Japan, US greet European naval deployments in Asia as counter to China’s rise

Japan and the United States have welcomed planned naval deployments this year by major European countries to Indo-Pacific waters, as China’s rapid military modernisation and maritime and territorial ambitions prompt moves to increase deterrence.

With Beijing showing increasing assertiveness in the East and South China seas and on the India-China border, Britain will deploy the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth and its strike group to East Asia, France will dispatch a naval vessel to Japan and Germany will send a frigate to the Indian Ocean – all planned for 2021, according to government announcements and news reports.

“Japan has potential for further development of defence cooperation with Europe,” Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said in an online meeting with his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on December 15.

The development comes amid doubts in Asia and the broader region about how much of a security threat Europe sees as coming from China as it apparently seeks to shift the status quo in the region in its favour through coercive measures.