Facing the Era of Global Crisis

This panel at CPAC Japan tackles the issue of international affairs in the Asian region. Japan is facing the brink of a crisis with North Korea and China closing in on the island in their military exercises and with China advancing in its nuclear weapon development. Japan is concerned not just for itself but for Taiwan as well whose geographic location is central in shipping routes to Japan. In reverse, Japan presents one of the greatest, if not the greatest, threats to Chinese power in Asia. Japan is militarily well-endowed and previous prime ministers, especially Prime Minister Abe, established systems that strengthened Japan against foreign adversaries. Whitaker urges Japan to remember that they have a friend in the United States. The United States can support Japan by distancing ourselves from China. We can break our manufacturing relationship with China and rely more on our trustworthy trade partners like Japan. We should do so for our own sake as well in light of China’s repeated theft of American military, agricultural, and technological information. Together, the United States and Japan can hinder the expansion of Chinese influence and military threats on Asia and the world.