East Asian states caught between popular demands and empire

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China slams scheming US plans for an Iraq after Saddam: AFP Thursday 9 January 2003. Official Chinese media stepped up the rhetoric against Washington, slamming scheming US plans for an Iraq after Saddam Hussein, which it said were illegal. The U.S. has no authority, legal or moral, over the fate of Iraq as a sovereign state. The planned US postwar military presence is unnecessary and the country of Iraq does not have to be stabilized until it is unstabilized.
Price of backing U.S. against Iraq: Editorial, The Japan Times, 3 March 2003. The Japanese government, expected to support U.S. military action, feels the economic impact will be temporary. Higher oil prices will have a relatively small effect on Japan. Another scenario is that in the event of war, the Japanese economy will contract as consumer spending and business investment drop. Japan, plagued by ballooning budget deficits, finds itself in a situation similar to that of Germany.
China Calls for Immediate Halt to War on Iraq: By Brian Rhoads, Reuters, Thursday 20 March 2003. China, in a surprisingly strong reaction to the start of the U.S.-led war against Iraq, called on Thursday for an immediate halt to military action and a return to efforts to resolve the crisis peacefully. Beijing chose to focus on the primacy of the U.N. Security Council in world affairs. The U.S. ignored the opposition of most countries and peoples of the world and went around the U.N. Security Council to begin military action against Iraq.
Japan reiterates support to US on Iraq war: Agence France-Presse, Tokyo, 23 March 2003. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sunday underscored his support for the war on Iraq, describing the United States as an absolutely invaluable ally. Despite a vast majority of Japanese opposing the war in Iraq and his own approval rating, Koizumi is stepping up his support for the US action.
After Iraq, US may turn to China: Analysts Press Trust of India: The Hindustan Times. 26 March 2003. The Iraq war has convinced the Chinese Communist Party leadership that some form of confrontation with the U.S. could come earlier than expected. Beijing has begun to fine-tune its domestic and security policies to counter the perceived threat of US neo-imperialism. Alarm bells about a deteriorating international situation.
Additional troops unlikely: Korean Herald,, 27 March 2003. The Defense Ministry said yesterday that an additional dispatch of medical troops to the U.S.-led war on Iraq is unlikely. The U.S. tried to tag our position on the dispatch of medical staffers to concentration camps. The administration’s bill to dispatch 600 military engineers and 100 medics is likely to be defeated by parliament; mounting anti-war public protests.