US playing dual role

Any discerning person can see the motive behind the joint drill between Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force and the US Marine Corps in Guam on Saturday. It was the first exercise of its kind, held purportedly to enhance the two countries' capabilities to defend remote islands from "foreign assault".

Tension between China and Japan had mounted further on Friday night as scores of Japanese policemen landed on China's Diaoyu Islands. But instead of taking steps to defuse the tension, Japan started the joint drill, which GSDF claimed was not aimed at any specific island or third country.

As early as 2005, Japan's Defense Agency had prepared a plan to defend the remote islands south of Kyushu and Okinawa against a possible "invasion" from China. The plan said Japan should dispatch 55,000 GSDF troops, and planes, warships and submarines if the remote islands were attacked. The possible reasons for such an attack, the report said, were the Diaoyu Islands dispute and China's exploration for marine resources in the East China Sea. The report at best was wild speculation.