Publication

This paper outlines the findings of a tabletop exercise that examined the US and Japan’s perspectives on a rising China as well as if Washington and Tokyo have the necessary tools to counter possible Chinese coercion around the Senkaku Islands. Key issues addressed by the exercise include 1) how despite the strong cohesion in the US-Japan alliance, there are notable seams that could open during a crisis in the East China Sea; and 2) how an overriding task for both the US and Japan is how to balance the need to impose costs on China with the need to de-escalate tensions during a crisis scenario.