China-Japan Relations

The dispute in the East China Sea between China and Japan over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands has attracted global attention and has been considered a dangerous turn of events. The dispute between China and Japan started with this group of islands and has grown because of the nationalistic views of both countries and past conflicts that have increased tensions. Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, visited the Yasakuni shrine, which caused political offence to China and has alienated both countries even more. Nationalist displays by the Japanese government often bring memories of Japanese atrocities during World War Two to the forefront of disputes between Japan and other East Asian nations (Zurcher, 2014).

Furthermore, Japan has been amassing nuclear stockpiles by amassing enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium. This is a strategic move by Japan to get the attention of other countries and show them that this is a serious matter while keeping China at a safe distance with the mild threat of nuclear war. This is a very delicate matter because other countries could consider intervening. With such vast amounts of resources for nuclear weapons building, Japan is a threat to all.

Tensions have also appeared on the economic front, with some Chinese calling for a full boycott of Japanese products and targeting Japanese businesses and restaurants; Japan has started to shift its financial focus towards Southeast Asia (Tiezzi, 2014). Both countries are pointing their guns toward each other and waiting for the other to blink. With the Japan’s increase of the number of naval ships and war planes to guard the 5 uninhabited islands, while trying to involve the US, and China’s increase of military and defense spending to extreme levels, whether or not the two blink, they are nevertheless on the brink of starting World War III, if no negotiation or intervention is made.

In addition to Vietnam and the Philippines alliance in confronting China and protecting the Spratly Islands, Japan has also decided to join forces in battle against China by shifting more investment to Vietnam. Due to the political instability with China, Japan has transferred its capital flows which dropped from $13.48 billion to $2.5 billion into Vietnam, in which the nation’s foreign investment increased from $169 million to $4.45 billion from 2010 to 2013. “Vietnam’s chief attractions include a peaceful environment and low cost labor force”, said Atsusuke Kawada, chief executive of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) (Song, 2014).

In order to prevent further escalation, the Asia Society recommends that the U.S. becomes more involved, or that the matter be taken to the U.N. If one country decides to use legal action instead of military action, the U.N. most likely has a previous example of a sea dispute. Currently, President Barrack Obama has already declared Japan’s sovereignty over the islands, therefore U.S. Military experts have already been coming up with suggestions for Japan’s public relations image, to defend China’s accusation of being “the aggressor driven by militarism.” (Hayashi, 2014). These suggestions include annual military dialogues between China and Japan and the set up of a military-to-military crisis hotline (both countries have agreed to this but no further action has been taken), and making use of the dispute resolution systems within the United Nations, such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Law of Sea tribunals (ITLOS) (Smith, 2014).

The Chinese and the Japanese have a very complex and strong nationalist ideology. Unfortunately, since the Sino-Japanese War and later the occupation of China by Japan, these nationalistic views have made these two nations carry resentment for each other. The primordialist nationalism of the Chinese has been since the start of its political movements. Sun Yatsen "famously referred to the Chinese Nation as the Yellow Race” (Barabantseva). This union of the Chinese because of their culture and ethnicity have worsened the tensions with Japan. Japanese prime ministers keep going to the shrines where the remains of convicted war criminals reside and this causes outrage for the Chinese who think of this as offensive and disrespectful for those massacred in the war. The Japanese Prime Minister is also  asserting himself in Asia and doesn’t try to work amiably with China. The modernist nationalism of the Japanese clashes with the old primordialist nationalism of China which causes minor conflicts that may be much more dire than they seem.  

One part of history where both countries could look towards to solve this conflict is the Cold War. The United States and Russia have extensive knowledge about these types of situations. Some solutions include: “Incidents at Sea Agreement concluded bilaterally between Japan and China, but perhaps adapted to include others such as South Korea. Annual military dialogues where Tokyo and Beijing could discuss their military Rules of Engagement (ROEs) as well as review interactions between their militaries would be welcome. Japan has this arrangement with its Russian neighbors. Crisis communications mechanisms are also important”.[1]

Sources:

Works Cited

Smith, Sheila. (2014, February 21). “How China and Japan Might Avoid Military Confrontation in the East China Sea.” Asia Society. Retrieved fromhttp://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/how-china-and- japan-might-avoid-military-confrontation-east-china-sea.

Tiezzi, Shannon. (2014, January 25). “The New Cold War: China vs. Japan.” The Diplomat. Retrieved from http://thediplomat.com/2014/01/the-new-cold-war-china-vs-japan/.

Zurcher, Anthony (2014, January 2). “China v Japan: Who is at fault? ”. BBC. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-25580979.

Song, Sophie (2014, March 22). “Japanese Companies Shift Investment To Vietnam As Thailand And China Become Less Attractive”. International Business Times. Retrieved from

http://www.ibtimes.com/japanese-companies-shift-investment-vietnam-thailand-china-become-less-attractive-1560462

Hayashi, Yuka (2014, March 22). “China’s PR on Islands Beats Japan’s, Say U.S. Military Experts”. Wall Street Journal Blog. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2014/03/26/chinas-pr-on-islands-beats-japans-say-u-s-military-experts/

Barabantseva Elena, (2014). "How Do People Identify With Nations?”. Global Politics: A New Introduction. Print.

Images sources:

http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/09/china-japan-protests-01.jpg?w=940

http://www.dw.de/image/0,,16255233_303,00.jpg

The Capture of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman

The Capture of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman

The worlds most wanted drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was arrested in a condominium in Mazatlan, on Saturday, February 22 by Mexican Marines in a joint U.S.-Mexico operation (Schoichet, Perez, Todd, 2014). Known for both his ruthlessness and power as the leader of the Sinaloa cartel “El Chapo” (Shorty in English) has been a high profile target for many years .  

"El Chapo" came from humble beginnings in the mountain village of La Tuna de Badiraguato, Sinaloa. His father was a grower and smuggler of opium and marijuana. With no education or real outside opportunity, “El Chapo” followed in his father’s footsteps and began growing marijuana (Caldwell, Spagat, Billeaud, Weissenstein, 2014). In the late 1970’s, when Guzman was still in his 20’s, a drug lord named Hector Luis Palma Salazar hired him to be in charge of running drugs from Sinaloa to coastal cities on their way to the U.S. He rose quickly through the ranks and then began working for Miguel Àngel Felix Gallardo as a lieutenant; a position he held for many years. As his power grew, he and his affiliates became to be known as the Sinaloa Cartel. They used tunnels, lear jets, and leased warehouses in many U.S. cities, concealed cocaine in soap boxes and even used rolls of chicken wire mixed with hidden fiberglass components to store and smuggle cocaine. A truck driver was arrested at one point in Mexico hauling 1,400 cases of jalapeño peppers that were headed for Los Angeles. Each can of jalapeños contained a kilo of cocaine which amounted to a total amount of 7.3 tons. In 1993, a gunman from a rival gang who was said to be hunting “El Chapo”, opened fire into a car carrying a Catholic cardinal, who was shot 14 times. Because of this incident, the Mexican government put out a $5 million reward for any information regarding “El Chapo”.

He was arrested less than a month after the Cardinal's Killing, and was sentenced to prison in Guadalajara. On January 19, 2001, "El Chapo" escaped prison by crawling into a laundry cart and having a guard wheel him out. After his escape he became even more powerful. At one point he controlled more than half of the entire U.S.-Mexico border (Caldwell, et al., 2014). Although he had the capacity to be a ruthless thug, he also had the ability for great strategic planning. United States special forces alongside Mexican officials worked together on planning a strategic mission to capture “El Chapo” in his condominium in Mazatlan, MX. Despite having the head of the beast cut off, the question remained on how Mexico accomplished such a feat. To the Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, the feat was thanks to the Mexican Marines and officials, but for the United States the accomplishment was thanks to the cooperation between both countries. President Peña Nieto congratulated the Mexican officials stated that Mexico will not rely on Americans’ aid in further attempts which implied the resentment of relying on Mexico’s neighbors to the north for this operation.

Relying on some US DEA officials, the Mexican Marines were tipped with “El Chapo’s” whereabouts and were quick to proceed. Utilizing infrared devices, the Mexican Marines entered the condominium undetected but were unsure of the presence of “El Chapo.” Progressing through to the main bedroom, the marines discovered “El Chapo” asleep next to an unidentified woman said to possibly be his wife. Asthe notorious “El Chapo” was drawn out, no shots were fired despite “El Chapo’s” arsenal of weapons at his disposal. The search had developed thanks to the capture of his lieutenant earlier in the year and other members of the cartel. These captures tipped off “El Chapo” while he resided in a hideout in Culiacán and he was able to get away without capture by escaping through the tunnel underneath his bathroom shower. Despite his escape, the Mexican officials later discovered the tunnels that connected his Culiacán hideout. Recognizing “El Chapo’s” escape patterns allowed for an advantage over the operation to later infiltrate the condominium in Mazatlan. At the operation, the Mexican government had utilized intel that the US DEA in Arizona gathered when arresting the son of “El Chapo’s” lieutenant, the said to be heir of “El Chapo’s” position,  

“El Chapo’s” arrest has been viewed as a huge success in the “War on Drugs.” But with all of the media buzz along with news articles, and families calling one another to share the “chisme” (gossip), we’re forgetting to realize that the violence in Mexico has not decreased nor has the amount of illegal drugs coming into the US. It seems that El Chapo’s arrest is nothing more than a miniscule accomplishment in the broader picture. The Sinaloa Cartel continues to have more than $3 billion each year in revenue and they will continue to be responsible for 25% of the illegal drugs brought to the US over the Mexican-American border (Estevez, 2014). In analysing this situation it is important to recognize that a new kingpin, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, will take over and will still work with “El Chapo”, even while in jail.

Although the arrest of “El Chapo” is a step closer to eliminating the US/ Mexico Drug epidemic, with the help of the new kingpin, “El Mayo”, the success of the Sinaloa Cartel will continue to still be carried out. The United States and Mexico will have to continue to tightly work together in order to ensure any further success of the Sinaloa Cartel and the“War on Drugs.” President Peñanieto will have to acknowledge that this conflict is not one-sided, and that collaboration with the  United States is a vital aspect in this process as shown by the capture of “El Chapo.” The technology and intelligence utilized in the planning of locating the drug lord has proven that the United States can be a valuable asset in combination with partnership with the Mexican government. This capture may not have been possible without these vital elements.  

At first glance, “El Chapo’s” sentence seems obvious-- a life in jail or maybe even execution. But when we dig a little bit deeper into the issue, we can foresee that if he stays in the Mexican judicial system, there is a possibility of him escaping, again. But, if he is extradited to the United States, he will face a variety of charges (Kawas, 2014).Hopefully, El Chapo’s arrest will open doors for a change in strategy and be a turning point for the way that the War on Drugs is approached by both the United States and Mexican governments.

Citations for this article:

Archibold, R., Thompson, G. (2014) El Chapo, Most-Wanted Drug Lord, Is Captured In Mexico. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/world/americas/joaquin-guzman-loera-sinaloa-drug-cartel-leader-is-captured-in-mexico.html

Caldwell, A., Spagat, E., Billeaud, J., & Weissenstein, M. (2014). ‘Chapo’ guzman’s rise: from                      poor, abused to cartel kingpin. El Paso Times. Retrieved from http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_25255091/chapo-guzmans-rise-from-poor-abused-cartel-kingpin?source=most_viewed

Estevez, D. (2014). One Month After Drug Lord El Chapo Guzman’s Arrest, Narcotics Business Continues With No Change. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2014/03/20/one-month-after-drug-lord-el-chapo-guzmans-arrest-narcotics-business-continues-with-no-change/

Kawas, G. (2014). The Future of “El Chapo” Guzman and Latin America’s War on Drugs. Panampost. Retrieved from http://panampost.com/gina-kawas/2014/03/05/future-el-chapo-guzman-latin-americas-war-on-drugs/

Schoichet, C., Perez, E., & Todd, B. (2014). ‘El chapo’ guzman: how the worlds most wanted drug lord was finally busted. CNN. Retrieved from  http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/23/world/americas/el-chapo-capture/  

Climate change. Are you fracking kidding me? And wood pellets… not feed, but fuel.

Turn to any content or news source – be it newspapers, magazines, TV, cable, radio or online outlets – and you’re bound to come across the term “Climate Change.”

For those of you living under a rock for the last 50 years or maybe in a hyper barrack chamber somewhere, we have some breaking news for you… climate change is occurring, and it is a hot-button issue in the world today - especially in the United States.  So what is climate change?  What causes it?  What does climate change have to do with US policy?  And what effect does US and the EU’s policies have on the international “climate change” stage?  In order to answer these questions, we need to understand what is climate and how does climate change.  Climate is defined as “ the long-term average of conditions in the atmosphere, ocean, and ice sheets and sea ice described by statistics, such as means and extremes” (NOAA 2009: 16).  Climate change refers to “any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature or precipitation) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer)” (EPA 2012: 3).  The Environmental protection agency also states that climate change can be caused by natural or human factors (EPA 2012: 3).  Human activities such as the burning of coal to generate electricity or the use of fossil fuels can contribute to climate change.  Changes in climate can affect us in many ways in our daily lives.  For example, climate change can impact the volume of rainfall and also influence agriculture crop yield (EPA 2012: 3), leading to concerns of drought or flooding.  A main cause of climate change is the Greenhouse Effect.  The Greenhouse Effect is described as the increased emission of greenhouse gases that causes the atmosphere to retain more heat, which in turn leads to global warming (EPA 2014). Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂) are emitted by human activities such as burning of fossil fuels such as in coal-powered industrial plants or even driving a car with gasoline or diesel as its fuel source.  Since the United States is one of the world’s leading emitters of greenhouse gases, we decided to concentrate on carbon emissions within the realm of US “green” energy technology, specifically biomass production and its use as an energy source.

            According to UK’s Biomass Energy Centre, biomass is defined as “biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms.  In the context of biomass for energy this is often used to mean plant based material” (Biomass 2011).  For our purposes, we chose to focus on wood pellets, which are made through a process that turns waste from wood manufacturing (for flooring, construction and other purposes) into tiny compressed pieces.  These small pieces, or pellets, are then, in turn, burned as fuel to create energy (either heat or electricity).

At first glance, this seems like a win-win situation – turning waste from one type of natural product into a viable product that is seen as environmentally “friendly” to use for fuel.  There is, however, potential for wood manufacturing and pellet productions companies to take advantage of the rising market of opportunity.  In the US, the industry essentially at the present monitors itself.  The problem arises when it’s not just wood waste that is being used for this purpose, but whole trees as well.  This could lead to trees being harvested en masse to feed the growing pellet business.  Live trees effectively remove carbon dioxide from the air by the process of photosynthesis (Friedland et al 2012: 524).  They act like atmospheric “filters.”   So it follows that less trees means less carbon dioxide is being filtered from the atmosphere.  This could have the exact opposite effect on Climate Change.  Or to put it another way, it could have the same big picture effect as burning coal.  In the United States, 87% of the forests in the southern states are privately owned, which means owners could decide to clear-cut their land for profit.   There are currently no federal (or individual state) policies to prevent that from happening.  “The forests are coming down” (Sausman 2013).

            With many nations searching for new methods of mitigating the effects of climate change while simultaneously searching for efficient, economically viable replacements for fossil fuel, there is a race to find the next best green alternative.  Biomass is often viewed as a “carbon neutral” fuel source, meaning it neither increases nor decreases the carbon input in the environment.  Biomass production can be economical, requiring minimal processing.  Burning of wood pellets is considered more efficient that coal (Ball 2008).

Its not just the effects on the environment and global climate change that are at stake.  Policies (or lack thereof in some cases) are having an impact, and will continue to affect the global economy.  Through legislation and incentives, the EU has recently been encouraging its member states to increase its use of renewable energy like wind, solar, and other high-tech and expensive methods of creating energy.  Despite the money pored into new technology and government incentives, about half of Europe's energy consumption is produced by biomass.  In Poland, biomass makes up 80% of energy consumption (Wood 2013).  The EU has turned to the US and Canada to fill its need for biomass in the form of wood pellets.  Wood pellet manufacturers are springing up all over the southern US and areas of Eastern Canada.  At present, the southern states are fulfilling the vast majority of what the EU needs in terms of biomass.  This means that the pellets have to be produced, delivered to ports, shipped across the Atlantic Ocean before they reach their final destination for consumption (Wood 2013).  Suddenly, it doesn’t seem like such a great idea.

  Considering the environmental aspect as relates to climate change, the policies of the US and the EU along with the economic impact… is biomass (in this particular case wood pellets) is the new Green Gold?  As we shall explore, the proof is in the pine pudding.

Sources:

Ball, J. (30 December 2008).  Green goal of ‘carbon neutrality’ hits limit. Wall Street

Journal. US News. Retrieved from

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB123059880241541259

Biomass Energy Center. (2011). What is biomass? Biomass Energy Center. Retrieved

from

http://www.biomassenergycentre.org.uk/portal/page?_pageid=76,15049&_dad=portal

The Economist. (6 April 2013). Wood, the fuel of the future. The Economist. Business.  

Retrieved from

http://www.economist.com/news/business/21575771-environmental-lunacy-europe-fuel-future

EPA. (2014). Causes of climate change. United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Retrieved from

            http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/causes.html

EPA. (2012). US climate change indicators. United States Environmental Protection

Agency. Retrieved from

            http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/pdfs/climateindicators-full-2012.pdf

Friedland, A., Courard-Hauri, D. & Relyea, R. (2012). Environmental science:

Foundations and applications. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman and Company.

Galbraith, K. (1 May 2012). Wood makes a comeback as a fuel. The New York Times. Green Column.    

           Retrieved from

           http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/business/global/wood-makes-comeback-as-a-fuel.html?_r=2&

Hausman, S. (16 December 2013). Hardwood forests: Wood pellets & sustainability. WVTF Public 

           Radio.  Retrieved from

http://wvtf.org/post/wood-pellets-sustainability

NOAA. (2009). Climate literacy: The essential principles of climate sciences; A guide for

Individuals and communities. NOAA. Retrieved from

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/literacy/climate_literacy.pdf

Williamson, L. (5 May 2011). Why is the UK backing biomass power? The Guardian.

Environment. Retrieved from

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/may/05/biomass-power-costly-climate-solution

Potential World World III in Asia?

This semester we will be focusing on two territorial disputes with China. The first, involving the Spratly and Paracel Islands, is with Vietnam while the second is a dispute with Japan over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Other countries, which include the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan (Republic of China), and Brunei also claim these islands, however Vietnam and Japan have the greatest claims over the above island chains.

First, the Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China, which include eight uninhabited islands are “important shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and lie near potential oil and gas reserves[,]… strategically significant position, amid rising competition between the US and China for military primacy…”

(BBC Asia). After World War II, Japan renounced claims to many territories, after losing so much during the war.  China raised no objections to the renouncing and returning of these territories, until the 1970’s, when the issue of oil, fishing, and various mineral resources emerged in the area. The Senkaku and Diaoyu Islands has encouraged China to bolster their argument of ownership over a large swath of the East China Sea. In September 2012, the Japanese government bought three islands from private owners to prevent them from falling into “Ultranationalist hands”. Beijing responded with anger by “sending its air and naval vessels into the area claimed by Tokyo, often coming within firing range of the Japanese planes and ships sent to intercept them.” Having said this, tension has been rapidly increasing in the East of China among territories between Japan.

Shinzo Abe, The Japanese Prime Minister, compared the current situation between Japan and China to that of Germany and the U.K. prior to the First World War. Let’s hope that the leaders of both nations communicate in order to avoid and calm the rough seas while we approach the next territorial dispute between China and Vietnam.

Similarly, China has provoked conflicts with Vietnam regarding the Paracel and Spratly Islands, which are South of China’s sea. Although issues date 40 years back, during the Vietnam War, problems have once again arisen due to the fishing rules and naval clashes at the Paracel Islands. On January 19, 1974, when the Southern Vietnamese navy (backed by the United States) had a naval clash with the Chinese forces, who also supported to North Vietnamese, Chinese military units seized islands in the Paracels occupied by South Vietnamese armed forces, and Beijing claimed sovereignty over the Spratlys. By then, Vietnam still owned some parts of the Paracel and Spratly Islands, but did not approach the issue until both North and South Vietnam were unified. Until recently, China imposed fishing rules that "require foreign fishing ships to obtain approval to enter waters it has placed…including those surrounding the Paracels.", with reports of China harassing Vietnamese fishermen. Since then, the Vietnamese media has raised reports on China's new fishing regulations, in which Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has deemed to be "illegal and invalid." Hoang Sa, the name of the Paracel Islands in Vietnamese, deeply sparks nationalism as the country boycotts China and their goods, but also hostility towards the Chinese community living in Vietnam, no longer considering the separation between the Northern and Southern Vietnamese.  

27 November 2013 Q&A: China-Japan islands row. BBC World Asia. Retrieved

From www.bbc.co.uk

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11341139

David E. Sanger (December 1 2013) In the East China Sea, a Far Bigger Test of

Power Looms. The New York Times. Retrieved From www.nytimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/02/world/asia/in-the-east-china-sea-a-far-

bigger-test-of-power-looms.html

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National Interest. Retrieved From www.nationalinterest.org

http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/asias-ultimate-nightmare-china-japan-

war-9662

Ankit Panda (January 23, 2014) Shinzo Abe At World Economic Forum: 'Restrain

Military Expansion In Asia'. The Diplomat. Retrieved From www.thediplomat.org

http://thediplomat.com/2014/01/shinzo-abe-at-world-economic-forum-

restrain-military-expansion-in-asia/

Nga Pham (January 14, 2014). Shift as Vietnam Marks South China Sea Battle. BBC World Asia. Retrieved from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25709833