George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 57

The Great America of George W. Bush – Episode 56 (57/377)

Around this time, the world began to realize that the United States held a staggering $1 trillion in savings within its account with China. Simultaneously, America’s allies grew excited, hoping to receive some benefits from America’s economic strength.

However, even with this potential, Europe remained preoccupied with the Middle East, while Korea, as always, focused on North Korea, engaging with them directly. Korea notably spearheaded the light-water reactor project. They might have reasoned, ‘Now we don’t need to worry as much about China,’ but they didn’t consider actively seeking economic advantages in conjunction with the United States.

At best, they entertained vague notions that appealing to the United States might lead to eased regulations on business with China or grant them a trade advantage between Korea and China.

The only countries that could truly be called allies were Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico in South America. These nations showed little interest in China. Meanwhile, India was quietly pursuing alliance discussions with the United States behind the scenes, and Israel was preoccupied, already deeply involved in addressing terrorism and maintaining limited contact with China.

Only China, the directly involved party, and pro-China countries like Russia and Pakistan issued condemnations.

And Japan.

“Mr. Bush! Now is the time when your help is needed!”

Uniquely, Japan possessed administrative flexibility. They weren’t consumed by national projects demanding all their efforts and resources. Instead, they grappled with a persistent array of concerns.

One such concern was the Senkaku Islands issue, located northeast of the Ryukyu Islands [Okinawa Islands]. Known as the Diaoyu Islands in China, it represented a prominent point of contention.

Aside from the rapidly improving and friendly China-Russia border following the resolution of past disputes, finding undisputed areas in China proved challenging. Among these, the Senkaku Islands dispute stood out in its intensity.

The history of the dispute traces back to 1608 when Japan began asserting influence over the Ryukyu Kingdom, the present-day Okinawa region. At that time, the Ryukyu Kingdom was a tributary state of the Qing Dynasty, but its power was so limited that it received minimal protection from the Ming Dynasty.

Still, as a tributary state in name, it received everything except military assistance. Due to active tributary activities, its name, clothing, and culture were influenced by China and Japan in equal parts. The taxes obtained through tributary trade with the Ming Dynasty were considerable, allowing the ruling class to live a relatively affluent life compared to their tiny territory.

In any case, Ryukyu, which feared the crazy neighbor more than the reliable older brother far away, repeatedly complied with the unreasonable demands of the Satsuma Domain. Then, for some reason, it committed a fatal diplomatic discourtesy to the envoy of the Japanese shogunate. As a result, the enraged Japanese shogunate ordered the Satsuma Domain, which had been waiting for an opportunity, to conquer Ryukyu with 3,000 arquebusiers [early firearms].

However, even after the conquest, Ryukyu remained a tributary state of the Ming Dynasty, a vassal state of Japan, and subservient to the Satsuma Domain, creating a bizarre situation.

In short, Ryukyu was exploited three times a year for about 270 years by the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese shogunate, and the Satsuma Domain.

Fast forward to 1879, when the Ryukyu Kingdom met its end. The Japanese imperial government forcibly dissolved the Ryukyu Kingdom and formally incorporated it into the territory of the Japanese Empire, infuriating the Qing Dynasty. Although the Ming Dynasty had fallen, the Qing Dynasty, its successor, still recognized the Ryukyu Kingdom as a tributary state.

Li Hongzhang [a prominent Qing Dynasty statesman] was furious, and Ulysses S. Grant was horrified. The former was angry that a tributary state treated as a monarch was integrated without consultation with the suzerain state, and the latter was concerned that the United States would not be able to exert much power in Asia due to Japan’s strengthened naval power and increased operational radius.

However, due to various complex reasons, Ryukyu was simply swallowed whole by the Japanese Empire. The Qing Dynasty’s resistance was not significant, largely because the Qing Dynasty, which had not yet escaped pre-modern ideas, did not recognize the importance of maritime hegemony.

Thus, the name of the Ryukyu Kingdom became Okinawa, and Ryukyu disappeared into the annals of history.

Advancing the timeline to 1885, a Japanese businessman discovered the Senkaku Islands. Later, the Sino-Japanese War erupted in 1889, and the Japanese Empire successfully incorporated the Senkaku Islands into its territory under the doctrine of terra nullius [Latin for “nobody’s land,” a principle allowing a state to claim sovereignty over unoccupied territory].

Based on this, Japan asserts that the ‘Senkaku Islands,’ belonging to ‘Okinawa,’ have been under ‘effective control’ for nearly 100 years.

It was evident to most that China had no grounds for intervention, and the Senkaku Islands rightfully belonged to Japan, but China devised a unique argument.

China’s claims were twofold.

First, ‘Diaoyu Islands belong to Taiwan, and Taiwan is the legitimate territory of the People’s Republic of China, so Diaoyu Islands are also the territory of China!’

Next, ‘The Ryukyu Kingdom was a tributary state of the Qing Dynasty, the predecessor of the People’s Republic of China. Therefore, according to the One China policy, not only Diaoyu Islands but also Okinawa is our legitimate territory!’

Of course, it was nonsense, but there is a magic in the world that makes even such nonsense seem so obvious if a knife is held to your throat. Japan, with its relatively smaller size, could not make as much noise as its legitimacy in this disputed area.

However, Japan was not a weak country, so it was diligently checking China, but it was also true that its limits were slowly becoming visible.

‘Now is the time, there is no other time.’

Prime Minister Koizumi thought that now was the perfect opportunity to end this meaningless dispute, as China was completely groggy and he had succeeded in gaining the favor of the United States. The Japanese cabinet also shared similar thoughts, regardless of whether they were in the ruling or opposition party.

The current Senkaku Islands were privately owned by a charming bald man living in Saitama Prefecture, and the Japanese government hastily bought them for about 2.5 billion yen [approximately $22 million USD].

“-Therefore, through nationalization, we declare that the Senkaku Islands have become completely Japanese territory.”

Bush received this news with a bewildered expression.

‘They’re carrying out something that should have happened in 2012 right away because the Chinese are groggy. And they bought it for 500 million yen more. If my memory is correct, the purchase price at the time was 2.05 billion yen.’

“China is in an uproar, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Bush rested his chin in his hand with a sullen expression. He didn’t really want to side with Japan. This wasn’t just because half of Bush came from Kim Kap-hwan [a reference to a character, implying a personal connection or bias].

It was because of the concern that if Japan gradually gained strength in this way, it would eventually turn against the United States, just like the Japanese Empire during World War II.

“Hmm, Chief of Staff. What do you think about this?”

“I think we should support Japan.”

“Why?”

With that short question, the Chief of Staff realized that the owner of the White House was very upset. He wouldn’t be dismissed in the following answer, but it was not appropriate for the Chief of Staff to upset the President.

Therefore, the Chief of Staff logically formulated his answer and chose an answer that could appease Bush rather than the correct answer.

“This is for the larger East Asia strategy, and for the smaller loyalty to our allies.”

“That’s true.”

Bush’s expression softened slightly after hearing the Chief of Staff’s answer.

‘Still, it’s unsettling.’

He knew how the future would turn out, so it was even more so. At first glance, the Chief of Staff’s answer was the most orthodox and universal. Therefore, even if he expressed his support for Japan’s territorial claim over the Senkaku Islands, no one would be able to say anything.

No, rather, it was the right choice to express support here. In fact, the Obama and Trump administrations also declared that the Senkaku Islands belonged to Japan.

‘The problem is that this will accelerate Japan’s right-wing shift.’

The right-wing shift was already slowly raising its head. But if so-called ‘nationalism’ is injected in lethal doses at such a time, the right-wing will surely go crazy in the sun. The problem was that the situation could be more serious than in 2019.

If that was all, the situation would not be so serious, but the problem was that this was a stepping stone for the revision of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.

Article 9 of the Constitution is Japan’s unique constitution, also known as the ‘Peace Constitution,’ and is related to the fact that Japan’s means of projecting military power is the Self-Defense Forces. To briefly summarize the content, ‘Japan abandons its military for international peace.’

Naturally, this clause left a big scar on the pride of the conservative ruling class, and revising it became the long-cherished desire of Japanese right-wingers. Their argument was that they defined the current Japan as an ‘abnormal country’ and demanded a revision to return to a ‘normal country.’ When the meaning implied in this word ‘normal country’ is unraveled, it means ‘to restore the most basic military autonomy and seize East Asian hegemony like in the old days!’

Of course, the United States, which seeks to dominate hegemony through East Asian stability, would not stand idly by.

The Japanese government that remained in Kim Kap-hwan’s memory was a half-crippled group. It may actually be the case, but at least the Abe cabinet, I don’t know about domestic affairs, but its diplomatic power could not be said to be good even as a compliment.

Some people thought that the cabinet’s administrative power was a mess, citing Japan’s old-fashioned system as an example, but paradoxically, seeing that its approval rating did not fall even when it was in that shape, it must be really good at domestic affairs.

Bush’s sullen expression was not only for this reason.

‘If we support Japan here, China, which is already half-crazy, might really cut its own belly [commit a desperate act].’

Of course, the United States had enough ability to forcibly collect it, but there was a problem that the United States would not have a good time after doing so. Furthermore, China was a nuclear power, so if a real war broke out, a nuclear bomb might fall on the US mainland.

You might think, ‘Would they really do that?’ but a cornered mouse bites a cat. The fact that a US-China war would break out the moment there were fewer reasons not to go to war than reasons to go to war was too obvious.

If he said he would not support it, he would become a president who was afraid of Japan’s right-wing shift, which had not even started yet. If he remained neutral, Japan would be furious with betrayal, and it was clear that this would also accelerate Japan’s right-wing shift through anti-American movements.

Therefore, he chose the best option, ‘Declaration of Support for Japan’s Senkaku Islands.’

The fact that Japan would take the Senkaku Islands also meant that Japan’s operational radius would increase, but it also meant that the US Navy’s operational radius in the South China Sea would increase.

‘Well, if it’s going to explode anyway, it’s better to explode now.’

“Chief of Staff.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The United States will support Japan.”

The Chief of Staff heard the answer he wanted and was able to release the tension in his shoulders. The Chief of Staff had long realized that George W. Bush subtly disliked Japan. That’s why he was worried that he might not support Japan because he was swayed by his personal feelings, but he was relieved that he readily supported it.

“And have them contact the presidents of Japan and Korea. Because there is an important story between the US, Japan, and Korea. Tell them to hold a trilateral summit once.”

“I understand about Japan, but… Korea?”

He even questioned the unexpected words, which was rare for the Chief of Staff. Questioning is usually to reconfirm whether he misheard, but because he boasts almost perfection in his assistance, the act of questioning itself almost never occurred.

“The disputed area is not just the Senkaku Islands.”