Tokyo has questioned the reliability of U.S. nuclear protection and has put the issue high on the agenda. Lasting peace in East Asia, however, cannot be achieved simply through nuclear power. The way forward is to focus on common security efforts and include all parties in the discussion.

The U.S., the Philippines, and Japan recently met in Washington for a trilateral summit, where they discussed security, diplomacy, economics, and more. At the meeting, Manila also exemplified a strategic alignment with Washington and Tokyo, particularly in countering China's assertiveness in the South China Sea and pursuing economic diversification away from Chinese dependency.

The United States has incentives to outsource the production of weapons, as its domestic capacity is insufficient to meet its needs. Co-production benefits others. But it’s also likely to lead to proliferation across borders, create regional security tensions and increase the risk of conflict.

Fabricating a strategic architecture by uniting Japan, the Philippines and Australia with the United States will only accelerate the transformation of the region into opposing camps and drag the big powers into a dangerous Thucydides trap.

Trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea seems to have solidified recently, although they have not announced a formal alliance. But differences in their views on China and deep-rooted frictions will likely hinder the ongoing pace of concerted action.

Amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, the Biden administration orchestrated a significant breakthrough by fostering closer relations between South Korea and Japan. This shift is underscored by a recent trilateral summit involving the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, where leaders addressed shared challenges posed by China and North Korea. This collaboration signifies a critical step towards regional security, economic resilience, and a unified approach to navigating the dynamics of the Indo-Pacific.

The United States and its allies need to make a strategic shift in their Asian strategy, away from their highly militarized mindset and toward thinking about what countries in the region want.

In their quest for absolute security, the two countries are sowing the seeds of disappointment. Because growth is necessary for economic security, any country that uses security as an excuse for trade protectionism will not achieve its desired competitiveness. This only harms innovation.

The United States and Japan are interfering in domestic affairs, and they have formed an ideological alliance in which they believe China must be confronted. The U.S. should reconsider this as it seeks allies among unrepentant Japanese politicians. After sowing the wind, what comes next is the whirlwind.

Japan seems developed and orderly, but that’s only its outward appearance. In truth, it is a vassal of the United States, which has adopted chaos as standard diplomatic theory. Now Japan wants to discharge radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear accident into the sea. Who will say no?