The commanding officer of Japan’s counterpiracy mission in the Gulf of Aden recently announced that Japan would be building a base in Djibouti for the forces serving on the mission. In an e-mail interview, Ayako Doi, associate fellow of the Asia Society, explained the significance of what the AFP called Japan’s first overseas military base. WPR: What does this move respond to? Doi: Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) began its anti-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia last March, with a dispatch of two navy destroyers equipped with a set of patrol helicopters and carrying about 400 sailors. The mission was [...]
Tensions continue to escalate between North and South Korea as an investigation of the sinking of the South Korean Cheonan comes to a close. Though all-out warfare seems unlikely, the South is doing what it can to state its disapproval for what some believe was a torpedo attack from North Korea. WSJ’s Andy Jordan reports from the DMZ that separates the two countries.
Preliminary investigations suggest that a North Korean torpedo caused the sinking of South Korea’s naval ship, the Cheonan, late last month, killing 46 sailors. In an e-mail interview, Scott Snyder, director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy at the Asia Foundation and an adjunct fellow for Korean Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, assesses the potential significance. WPR: What are the possible responses we can expect from South Korea? Snyder: In its response to the sinking of the Cheonan thus far, the Lee administration has consistently attempted to internationalize its response by including American, Australian, and Swedish technical experts [...]
