{"id":3256,"date":"2025-12-11T20:03:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T20:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3256"},"modified":"2025-12-11T20:03:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T20:03:36","slug":"u-s-japan-flex-military-might-amid-japan-china-feud-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3256","title":{"rendered":"U.S., Japan flex military might amid Japan-China feud : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-101708\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 3600;&#10;        --source-height: 2400;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3600x2400+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F45%2F9b%2F27c4a14f45729c2af33410cb44be%2Fap25345343662610.jpg 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srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3600x2400+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F45%2F9b%2F27c4a14f45729c2af33410cb44be%2Fap25345343662610.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3600x2400+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F45%2F9b%2F27c4a14f45729c2af33410cb44be%2Fap25345343662610.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3600x2400+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F45%2F9b%2F27c4a14f45729c2af33410cb44be%2Fap25345343662610.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3600x2400+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F45%2F9b%2F27c4a14f45729c2af33410cb44be%2Fap25345343662610.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3600x2400+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F45%2F9b%2F27c4a14f45729c2af33410cb44be%2Fap25345343662610.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3600x2400+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F45%2F9b%2F27c4a14f45729c2af33410cb44be%2Fap25345343662610.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3600x2400+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F45%2F9b%2F27c4a14f45729c2af33410cb44be%2Fap25345343662610.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3600x2400+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F45%2F9b%2F27c4a14f45729c2af33410cb44be%2Fap25345343662610.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                This photo provided by Japan&#8217;s Ministry of Defense shows the Japan Air Self-Defense Force&#8217;s F-15 fighters holding a joint military drill with U.S. B-52 bombers in the vicinity of Japanese airspace on Wednesday.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Japan&#8217;s Ministry of Defense\/AP<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><b>toggle caption<\/b><\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Japan&#8217;s Ministry of Defense\/AP<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 The United States sent nuclear-capable bombers, accompanied by Japanese fighter jets over the Sea of Japan in the first military show of force by the two allies since a bitter feud erupted between Japan and China last month.<\/p>\n<p>The drills included two U.S. B-52 strategic bombers and six Japanese F-35 and F-15 fighter jets, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mod.go.jp\/js\/index-en.html\" target=\"_blank\">according to the Japanese Defense Ministry&#8217;s Joint Staff<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This bilateral exercise reaffirms the strong will between Japan and U.S. not to tolerate unilateral changes to the status quo by force,&#8221; Japan&#8217;s Joint Staff said in a statement \u2014 language that Japan often uses to refer to the status of Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as part of its territory.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-backstage-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap backstage\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>This follows joint drills by Chinese and Russian strategic bombers and fighters on Tuesday that prompted <a href=\"https:\/\/japantoday.com\/category\/politics\/south-korea-japan-protest-over-china-russia-aircraft-incursions\" target=\"_blank\">Japan<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chosun.com\/english\/national-en\/2025\/12\/09\/OTYERYTLGNGYHF2NVMPPLDOQKQ\/\" target=\"_blank\">South Korea<\/a> to scramble planes to monitor them.\u00a0South Korea lodged a diplomatic protest over the incident.<\/p>\n<p>Japan and China have also recently traded <a href=\"https:\/\/asia.nikkei.com\/politics\/international-relations\/japan-pushes-back-on-china-s-claim-of-sdf-provocation-in-radar-incident\" target=\"_blank\">accusations<\/a> that the other side locked weapon targeting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asahi.com\/ajw\/articles\/16214622\" target=\"_blank\">radars<\/a> onto its planes, during Chinese aircraft carrier drills in waters near Japan.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\"><strong>China&#8217;s busy navy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Japan has noted an increase in Chinese military activity around southwest Japan&#8217;s Okinawa prefecture, which includes several islands close to Taiwan. &#8220;China&#8217;s naval operations are unusually active, and we&#8217;ve seen an expansion in the regions where it operates,&#8221; Akira Saito, chief of staff of Japan&#8217;s Maritime Self-Defense Force, <a href=\"https:\/\/asia.nikkei.com\/politics\/defense\/japan-worries-chinese-carrier-drills-near-okinawa-are-here-to-stay\" target=\"_blank\">told reporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Japan is concerned some of the drills are a pressure tactic related to a monthlong feud between Beijing and Tokyo.<\/p>\n<div id=\"resg-s1-101702-100\" class=\"bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col \">\n<div class=\"bucket img\">\n                  <a class=\"imagewrap\" id=\"featuredStackSquareImageg-s1-100860\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/12\/05\/g-s1-100860\/china-japan-feud-over-taiwan\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;recirculation&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;story_recirculation_click&quot;,&quot;clickType&quot;:&quot;inset box&quot;,&quot;clickUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/g-s1-100860\\\/china-japan-feud-over-taiwan&quot;}\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3333x3333+834+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe1%2Fc2%2F6905e06f4f4f8051c954294eeed6%2Fap25328301400833.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3333x3333+834+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe1%2Fc2%2F6905e06f4f4f8051c954294eeed6%2Fap25328301400833.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3333x3333+834+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe1%2Fc2%2F6905e06f4f4f8051c954294eeed6%2Fap25328301400833.jpg\" data-format=\"webp\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3333x3333+834+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe1%2Fc2%2F6905e06f4f4f8051c954294eeed6%2Fap25328301400833.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3333x3333+834+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe1%2Fc2%2F6905e06f4f4f8051c954294eeed6%2Fap25328301400833.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3333x3333+834+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe1%2Fc2%2F6905e06f4f4f8051c954294eeed6%2Fap25328301400833.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3333x3333+834+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe1%2Fc2%2F6905e06f4f4f8051c954294eeed6%2Fap25328301400833.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3333x3333+834+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe1%2Fc2%2F6905e06f4f4f8051c954294eeed6%2Fap25328301400833.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" alt=\"Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, on Oct. 21.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/a>         <\/p>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKETBLOCK\" -->\n      <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKET IMG\" -->\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"RESG-S1-101702-100\" CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP INTERNALLINK INSETTWOCOLUMN INSET2COL \" --><\/p>\n<p>The dispute erupted after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/12\/05\/g-s1-100860\/china-japan-feud-over-taiwan\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a> on  Nov. 7 that a Chinese naval blockade of Taiwan could justify mobilizing Japan&#8217;s military. <\/p>\n<p>Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun countered that China&#8217;s exercises were routine, and in line with international law. &#8220;The Japanese side has no need to make a fuss about nothing or to take this personally,&#8221; Guo told a press briefing.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">Trump focusing on China deal<\/h3>\n<p>The U.S. is currently focused on trying to implement what Washington describes as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/fact-sheets\/2025\/11\/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-strikes-deal-on-economic-and-trade-relations-with-china\/\" target=\"_blank\">trade deal<\/a> agreed on by President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the end of October.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-secondary-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap secondary\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The Trump administration had not criticized China over the dispute with Japan until this week, when the State Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/asia\/us-backs-japan-dispute-china-radar-incident-rcna248348\" target=\"_blank\">told Reuters<\/a>, &#8220;China&#8217;s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,&#8221; and the administration&#8217;s &#8220;commitment to our ally Japan is unwavering.&#8221; The State Department did not immediately respond to NPR&#8217;s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Japan&#8217;s Defense Ministry said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mod.go.jp\/j\/press\/news\/2025\/12\/11c.html\" target=\"_blank\">notice<\/a> on its website that Defense Minister Junichiro Koizumi is scheduled to speak by phone with his U.S. counterpart Pete Hegseth on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/12\/11\/g-s1-101702\/us-japan-military-china-tensions\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This photo provided by Japan&#8217;s Ministry of Defense shows the Japan Air Self-Defense Force&#8217;s F-15 fighters holding a joint military drill with U.S. B-52 bombers in the vicinity of Japanese airspace on Wednesday. Japan&#8217;s Ministry of Defense\/AP hide caption toggle caption Japan&#8217;s Ministry of Defense\/AP SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 The United States sent nuclear-capable bombers, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3256","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}