Referring to the preliminary military agreements reached by Japan and South Korea the day before, the newspaper stated that "The top two U.S. allies in Asia are inching toward greater military cooperation," in "an incremental but important development in Asian defense cooperation with an eye toward China."
It quoted Denny Roy of the East-West Center, a think tank established by the U.S. Congress in 1960, as asserting: "South Korea-Japan (military) cooperation has more implications for China than the Korean peninsula. North Korea provides the political excuse for what would otherwise be a strategic move" against China. "It's a fig leaf."
The Stars and Stripes article added: "Should conflict erupt on the Korean peninsula, Japan would likely play a crucial role in U.S. and South Korean combat efforts, experts said.
"South Korea and Japan sent observers to participate in each other's military exercises with the U.S. last year, a development viewed as an important step toward deeper military cooperation." [10]
Japan deployed military observers to the U.S.-South Korea Invincible Spirit war games in the Sea of Japan in July and South Korea returned the favor during the Keen Sword 2011 exercise in the East China Sea in December.
Invincible Spirit
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