Re: Good Effort
"Sounds like something from the Hillary/Neocon prayer book."
Hmm, you don't pay attention to the goings on in North Korea and the Western Pacific much, do you. Are you some kinda commie China stooge?
"Japan has to deal with its regional problems on its own terms. The US forces (and the US for that matter) won't be around forever."
Except that Japan pays a vast fortune to host US forces. Unlike NATO, where there's no membership fee as such, the Japan US mutual security treaty involves a very large payment. That's something Trump was unaware of, and when made aware declared the sum inadequate. The treaty does allow one party to terminate it with 1 year's notice.
However there's been some recent adjustments related to moving Kadena, for which the Japanese have also agreed to pay, and this may have included an alteration to the termination clauses.
Cancelling all that now would be very poor form indeed so far as diplomatic codes of conduct are concerned. It also doesn't fit with Trump's apparent pro-Taiwan stance; he cannot support them without military bases being close at hand, and they're all in Japan.
Trump is generally making noises about withdrawing from all sorts of treaties. That's not going to do the USA any good. It'll make doing business with the US more hassle than its worth. And it's not like the USA has any money these days.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
