The US' Role in the Rebalance of East Asia
The United States' role of facilitating a strategic rebalance in Asia is now more important than ever. The United States' objective is to ensure Japan and China enjoy a relationship that is not intimate enough to threaten or undermine U.S-Japan relations, but amicable enough that there is no threat of a military conflict between the two Asian tigers.
Ever since the American occupation of Japan after World War II in 1945, US-Japan relations have been one of the strongest and most successful international alliances. Therefore, good US-Japan relations is absolutely crucial in order to uphold American security interests in Asia. The US-Japan Defense Alliance, signed in 1952, permits the United States to have military bases in Japan in exchange for the guarantee of American defense of Japan in the event that Japan is involved in a direct military conflict. In contrast, US-China relations have recently took a turn for the worse.
The Unite States must be careful about navigating its triangular relationship with Japan and China, and the degree to which it should help mediate tensions between China and Japan. The United States, especially under the Obama administration, has been pressuring the Japanese government to be more confrontational about Japan's past war crimes. A more apologetic attitude from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could ameliorate current Sino-Japanese relations. Indeed, according to Professor Ezra F. Vogel of Harvard University, the United States should support Japanese and Chinese economic integration, and encourage China and Japan to reach some degree of reconciliation on historical tensions. According to Professor Ming Wan of George Mason University, the United States should adopt cooperative policies towards China while maintaining excellent relations with Japan in order to help improve Sino-Japanese relations.
Sources:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/14/obama-us-will-stand-longtime-ally-japan/
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/4142.htm
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/28/japanese-pm-shinzo-abe-address-us-congress-wartime-apology
http://www.cfr.org/japan/us-japan-security-alliance/p31437
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/asia_rpt113.pdf
