Senkaku Islands Dispute News & Analysis

China’s Naval Strategy in the East China Sea

The USS Ronald Reagan transits the South China Sea, cc Flickr Official U.S. Navy Page, modified, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ / SOUTH CHINA SEA (July 5, 2016) The Navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) transits the South China Sea. Ronald Reagan, the Carrier Strike Group Five (CSG 5) flagship, is on patrol in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Burke/Released) 160705-N-OI810-110

Exploring the strategic rationale behind the PLA Navy’s ongoing modernization program.

What Trump Doctrine Means for East Asia

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, flies over Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, during Checkered Flag 24-1, Nov. 8, 2023. Checkered Flag is a large-force aerial exercise held at Tyndall which fosters readiness and interoperability through the incorporation of 4th and 5th generation aircraft during air-to-air combat training. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Zeeshan Naeem) / https://www.acc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3593875/552nd-air-control-wing-integrate-with-4th-and-5th-generation-fighters-at-checke/

The overriding thrust of Trump Doctrine in East Asia seems to be a shift toward confrontation with China.

Donald Trump and US Nuclear Policy in East Asia

Nuclear symbol, Generated by Google Gemini AI on August 8, 2025. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric would create a domino effect of nuclear proliferation in East Asia, but will the president now follow through?

Japan Stands Firm on Senkaku Islands in East China Sea

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Conducts Joint Exercise with USS Antietam and Japanese Navy

Though less prominent than the South China Sea dispute of late, the fight for the Senkaku Islands is far from over.

PLA Navy Vessel Enters Japan’s Territorial Waters around Senkaku Islands

cc Al Jazeera, modified, Japanese Coast Guard Cutters stand watch over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. While disputed by China, Japan currently controls the island chain and has fiercely chased vessels from China and Taiwan that have entered the waters without permission. / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Senkaku_Islands_dispute_by_Al_Jazeera_English_%285%29.jpg

After a long lull in the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands dispute, the issue appears to be heating up once again.

Challenging US Preeminence: China Grand Strategy and the Monroe Doctrine

SOUTH CHINA SEA (June 14, 2010) The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), left, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Osumi-class amphibious assault ship JDS Kunisaki (LST 4003), center, and two landing craft air cushions assigned to Kunisaki transit through the South China Sea to Cambodia. Mercy is deployed as part of Pacific Partnership 2010, the fifth in a series of annual U.S. Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance endeavors to strengthen regional partnerships. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jon Husman/Released) / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_100614-N-6597H-681_The_Military_Sealift_Command_hospital_ship_USNS_Mercy_%28T-AH_19%29,_left,_the_Japan_Maritime_Self-Defense_Force_Osumi-class_amphibious_assault_ship_JDS_Kunisaki_%28LST_4003%29.jpg

What do plans to build a Chinese rival to the Panama Canal in Nicaragua say about the fall of the Monroe Doctrine and the rise of China as a global power?

Japan Looks to Southeast Asia to Counter China’s Assertiveness

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Conducts Joint Exercise with USS Antietam and Japanese Navy

The Abe government is looking to expanded defense cooperation with Southeast Asian nations as a way to counter China’s growing assertiveness and military clout in the region.

Peace Is the Only Answer in Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands Dispute

cc Al Jazeera, modified, Japanese Coast Guard Cutters stand watch over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. While disputed by China, Japan currently controls the island chain and has fiercely chased vessels from China and Taiwan that have entered the waters without permission. / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Senkaku_Islands_dispute_by_Al_Jazeera_English_%285%29.jpg

Cooler heads must prevail in the ongoing Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands dispute between China and Japan.

Japan Slips into the Asian Arms Race

cc Angelique Perez, U.S. Air Force / modified / Two Japan Air Self Defense Force F-15's fly alongside a U.S. Air Force KC-135 from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron, Kadena Air Base, during air refueling training July 30. / https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Two_Japan_Air_Self_Defense_Force_F-15_jets.jpg

In a move that could have far-reaching consequences in the Asia Pacific region, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has followed through on one of his campaign promises and increased defense spending after nearly a decade of budget reductions.

Japan Feels the Squeeze in East Asia

Generated by Google Gemini on July 28, 2025.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to the disputed Kurile Islands off the north coast of Japan will surely set alarm bells off within the Japanese defense establishment.

Senkaku: Dawn of a New Era of Tensions in East Asia

China Japan Flags, Generated by Google Gemini on July 27, 2025.

Beneath all of the historical score-settling that is driving a meteoric crash in relations between China and Japan there is a simple reality: China is attempting to fill strategic space that the US-Japanese alliance currently occupies. 

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