China and the Far Seas

The Diplomat published on 10 January 2014 an analysis titled "China and the Far Seas" by Andrew Erickson and Austin Strange.  The authors explain how China since it deployed the PLA Navy late in 2008 into the Gulf of Aden to combat Somali piracy has parlayed that activity into the Mediterranean and Western Indian Ocean. 

Japan, Africa and Security Operations

The National Bureau of Asian Research published on 7 January 2014 a brief commentary titled "UN Operations in Africa Provide a Mechanism for Japan's Military Normalization Agenda" by PhD candidates Jeremy Taylor and Michael Edward Walsh.

They cite the decision in 2009 by Japan to commit military assets to counter piracy off the coast of Somalia and the subsequent decision to establish a $40 million base in Djibouti for Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force.  Finally, Japan deployed peacekeepers to South Sudan with the UN mission.  These developments provide arguments for Japanese leaders to push forward with military normalization. 

The authors conclude that Japanese security operations in East Africa have enabled incremental changes that have moved Japan closer to collective defense in peacekeeping and the adoption of broader rules of engagement in military operations overseas.

China's Security Policy in Africa and the Western Indian Ocean

The International Affairs Forum asked me to write a short piece on China's Security Policy in Africa and the Western Indian Ocean. My response underscores China's limited security interests in Africa. On the other hand, it points out that China's expanding economy may require it to play a greater security role along the sea lanes in the western Indian Ocean that bring so much oil and raw materials from Africa and the Middle East to China.

Click here to read the commentary.