Theater Missile Defense Tmd In East Asia

As East Asia is entering the 21st Century, Japan, in reassessing its security environment and thus its strategic calculus, is on the verge of deploying latest jointly-researched theater missile defenses (TMD) to counter the threat of ballistic and cruise missiles. In parallel, the People's Republic of China is constantly modernizing its ballistic missile forces and is gearing up for a possible contingency with its self-proclaimed "high-tech adversaries". This work shows what drives Japan to deploy theater missile defenses and how the People's Republic of China is poised to be reacting to it.

Colonel Patrick M. O'Donogue (U.S. Army War College class of 2000) considers a topic of key importance to U.S. national security. Perhaps no security matter (with the exception of National Missile Defense) is as contentious globally as Theater Missile Defense (TMD). The question of U.S. assistance to Japan to develop and deploy a TMD is particularly complex and controversial.

Colonel Patrick M. O'Donogue (U.S. Army War College class of 2000) considers a topic of key importance to U.S. national security. Perhaps no security matter (with the exception of National Missile Defense) is as contentious globally as Theater Missile Defense (TMD). The question of U.S. assistance to Japan to develop and deploy a TMD is particularly complex and controversial.

The absence of a formidable U.S. and allied Theater Missile Defense (TMD) capability in the East Asian region has encouraged a build-up in offensive missile capability on the part of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). This build-up has destabilized a region of vital importance to the national interest of the United States by encouraging the idea that offensive military action can be utilized to attain national ambitions at a relatively acceptable cost. This thesis shows that the introduction of a layered missile defense capability will serve to enhance regional security for the United States and its allies by raising the costs associated with using missiles in an offensive manner and by underscoring the level of commitment the United States maintains in guaranteeing the security of its allies in the face of a growing regional threat. The political benefits associated with such a tangible defensive obligation on the part of the United States should not be underrated.

Recent US plans to deploy national missile defense (NMD) and theater missile defense (TMD) have emerged as significant issues for stability in Northeast Asia, a region that faces a number of critical uncertainties and daunting security challenges in the coming decade. These uncertainties and challenges include questions about the future US military role in the region, historical distrust between major powers, the continued existence of divided states, ongoing military modernization programs, territorial disputes, resource conflicts, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, and continuing shifts in relative economic and military power. US interest in deploying NMD and TMD is partly a response to military developments in Northeast Asia, including China's missile buildup across the Taiwan Strait and North Korea's efforts to develop nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles. Yet the US debate about missile defense has largely focused on NMD and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. This originally steered the debate toward Russia and away from China and Japan. The US national security community has tended to emphasize the military requirements and effectiveness of NMD and TMD without fully examining the regional security implications. As a result, these implications have not been fully explored and debated either within US policymaking circles or with their counterpart communities in China and Japan. Broader US interests in the region, maintenance of US alliances and nonproliferation goals have not been systematically connected to missile defense issues. To address these shortcomings, the Stanley Foundation, in conjunction with the National Defense University and the Monterey Institute of International Studies' Center for Nonproliferation Studies, organized a series of three conferences to conduct a thorough examination of the regional security implications of US NMD and TMD plans. This conference series, titled Ballistic Missile Defense in Northeast Asia: Implications for Security Relations Among the Regional Powers, engaged a wide variety of experts from the United States, China, and Japan to gain insights into the potential political and military implications of specific US deployment modes. A report of the conference series was prepared by Evan S. Medeiros of the Monterey Institute and published by the Stanley Foundation. The following brief highlights the key conclusions of the report.

Essay from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Far East, grade: 1,7, University of Münster (Institut für Politikwissenschaft), course: Theater Missile Defense in Europe and Asia - A Comparison, language: English, abstract: Das Thema Raketenabwehr wird vorrangig mit den amerikanischen Stationierungsplänen für Polen und die Tschechische Republik in Verbindung gebracht. Trotz vergleichbarer sicherheitspolitischer Relevanz spielt das ebenfalls von den USA unterstütze Raketenabwehrsystem auf Taiwan in den westlichen Medien keine wesentliche Rolle. Während sich Taiwan besseren Schutz vor chinesischen Raketenangriffen verspricht, betrachtet China eine taiwanesische Raketenabwehr als einen weiteren Schritt der "abtrünnigen Provinz" in Richtung formale Unabhängigkeit. Die Analyse der regionalen sowie globalen Implikationen ergibt, dass ein Raketenabwehrsystem auf Taiwan geringen militärischen Nutzen aufweist und die Beziehungen zwischen den USA und China destabilisiert.

Essay from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: 1,3, University of Münster (Institut für Politikwissenschaft), course: Theater Missile Defense in Europe and Asia – A Comparison, language: English, abstract: Strengthening a country’s defences should neither alarm its neighbours nor lead to an arms race. Despite this theoretical cognition of political sciences, the People’s Republic of China sees Ballistic Missile Defence as a threat to its national security. The aim of this essay is to explain why the BMD systems of the USA are threatening China’s national security. I will show that it is mainly a psychological discourse. Although, or precisely therefore, it is very important for the understanding of China’s position and assumptions. We will understand that China faces a security dilemma which is threatening the national security and ultimately lead to an arms race. I will show that the technical aspects here are not as important as the psychological implications. Missile Defence “hints at the psychological side of international politics.” The US’s BMD systems may not work well enough to be technically a real threat to any country, but the development and instalment causes China’s threat perceptions. BM is used “as a saber-rattling show of force, for intimidation in order to reach a political goal or simply as deterrence against a perceived outside threat or imminent attack.” For the People’s Republic of China there are two main issues: First, a period of strategic transition between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China and second, the US transfer of advanced PAC-3 Systems to Taiwan. “The negative impact of missile defense deployments on Sino-US relations could potentially be reduced by offsetting them with political and economic measures to reassure China.” Chinas concerns about missile defence focus mainly on political questions. Thoughts, fears and perceptions of Chinese officials and experts focus on Japanese militarization, the possibility that TMD would encourage Taiwan’s independence and the uncertainty about US intentions toward China. I will focus on the uncertainty about US intentions but I can’t leave out the other two aspects totally. We will have a better understanding of the Chinese mind if we are aware of China’s principle national priorities. On the one hand the Communist Party wants stay in power. For this reason they need social stability. On the other hand the economic development is very important for the country. It is the goal to have a continued economic growth. Additionally this plays in favour of social stability.

Spurred by a perceived growing ballistic missile threat from within the Asia-Pacific region and requests from the United States to support research and development on components of a missile defense system, the Japanese government decided in late 1998 and early 1999 to move forward with joint research and development with the United States on ballistic missile defense (BMD). But the decisions taken thus far commit Japan only to limited participation with the U.S. government on collaborative research and prototype production of theater missile defense (TMD) components. To date, Japan has undertaken no effort to develop or acquire a dedicated BMD system, nor has it assessed the larger political and strategic implications of a Japanese BMD system in any thorough or systematic manner. More important, no consensus has yet emerged in favor of the development or deployment of a full-fledged BMD system in Japan. Finally, Japan and the United States have not clarified: (1) how essential it is for Japan to participate in a more extensive program of joint research and development; (2) the extent of system interoperability that is desirable and achievable; or (3) the impact of a decision to deploy on the strategic environment in Asia.