Robyn Lim - The Japan Times

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Robyn Lim

For Robyn Lim's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY / World

May 15, 2004

China's proliferation serves to rouse Japan

China's support for North Korea has backfired. What would China prefer to see -- a Japan armed with nuclear weapons, or Japan's alliance with the United States strengthened by its participation in missile defense? In Beijing, neither option has much appeal. But in relation to Japan, China has been hoisted with its own petard.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 26, 2004

'Quagmire' label doesn't apply to Iraq

Those who predict "quagmire" in Iraq see a parallel with the Vietnam War. That is misleading. America is going to stay the course in Iraq.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 26, 2004

Japan misses the big picture

Japan needs to see its strategic security through a wider lens than the resource concerns of its powerful economic ministries. Japan's decision to fund the development of Iranian oil "against Washington's objections" ignores this principle.

COMMENTARY / World

May 11, 2003

China's policy has backfired

What would China prefer to see -- a Japan armed with nuclear weapons, or Japan's alliance with the United States strengthened by its participation in missile defense? In Beijing, neither option has much appeal.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 30, 2003

For Japan, being America's ally is no longer so easy

The number of North Korean Nodong missiles capable of targeting Japan is now thought to be some 175 to 200, rather than 100 as previously believed. Moreover, at the China-U.S.-North Korea talks in Beijing last week, North Korea taunted the United States by saying that it had developed nuclear weapons. How should Japan respond to this growing threat?

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 16, 2003

Why does Japan choose to remain naked to the threat of North Korean missiles?

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, fearing that he is next on U.S. President George W. Bush's list for "regime change," is openly threatening Japan with his Nodong missiles. Yet Japan chooses to remain naked to this threat. Why doesn't it ask for PAC-3 (Patriot) missiles to be deployed by U.S. forces in Japan?

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 29, 2003

U.S.-ROK alliance in crisis

America's alliance with South Korea is in crisis. Strangely, few in Japan seem to have noticed, let alone grasp, what it portends for their country. Japan is now on the spot in a way that was not the case during the Cold War.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 19, 2003

International system teeters on the cusp of tectonic change

As war looms in Iraq, the international system is on the cusp of tectonic change. Both the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are in crisis. So is the U.S. alliance with South Korea. What might all this mean for Japan?

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 13, 2001

Target Iraq: easier perhaps, but riskier

With Osama bin Laden's Arab legions being hunted down in the mountains of Afghanistan, the endgame is approaching in the first stage of America's war on terrorism. Should Iraq be next?

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 22, 2001

Should the U.S. help China to get rich?

How long will the United States continue to believe that it should help China to get rich by keeping American markets open? That's the key question now that the 24 servicemen and -women from the downed U.S. surveillance aircraft have been allowed to return home. Never before has America allowed a potentially hostile rising power with an authoritarian government to run up a huge trade surplus that helps it build the sinews of war. If the U.S. comes to believe that China will never become a democracy, it is likely to opt for containment.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 12, 2001

U.S. needs allies, not deputy sheriffs

Comments by new U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell have stirred some controversy in Australia. During his confirmation hearings, Powell said that the United States would let Australia take the lead in Indonesia, "as they have done so well in that troubled country." Critics saw this as evidence that the Bush administration will seek to badge Australia as its deputy sheriff and point it at Indonesia. Such a policy would serve none of the parties involved.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 19, 2000

Australia aims to be a more credible ally

The United States should welcome the more outward-looking defense posture embodied in the Australian white paper released on Dec. 6. Although the country's armed forces will remain configured mostly for the defense of Australia, enhanced capabilities can also be used to contribute to allied coalitions farther afield. In particular, the decision to improve the capabilities of the surface navy shows that Australia intends to be a more credible ally of the United States.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 29, 2000

China continues to bully ARF

At this week's meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Bangkok, China will seek support for its opposition to U.S. plans to develop a theater missile defense. That is consistent with China's use of ARF as a forum for undermining support for the U.S. alliance structure in East Asia. China demands a free hand in East Asia, but the United States and its alliances -- especially that with Japan -- stand in the way.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 3, 2000

Australia pays for security on the cheap

Last week, the Australian government released a discussion paper on defense. As in other mature democracies, it's not easy to sustain support for defense spending when no threat is imminent. But Australia's U.N.-authorized intervention in East Timor last year showed the risks of seeking defense on the cheap.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 4, 2000

An alignment with India? Think again

According to recent reports, some Japanese officials are attracted by the idea of an alignment with India against China. India, they say, occupies an important position astride Japan's sea routes to the Persian Gulf. They note that India is the world's largest democracy, so Japan can work with it on matters of common interest. And, they say, India's growing middle class and high-tech companies are attractive for Japan. Some scope may exist for limited Japanese defense cooperation with India. But it's folly to think that the enemy of my enemy is necessarily my friend. The risks of alignment with India outweigh the advantages.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 19, 2000

China probes U.S.' other Asian alliances

China's deepening alignment with Russia, and the sales of advanced weapons that accompany it, risk fueling China's ambition of strategic dominance in East Asia. After the "recovery" of Taiwan, or so the scenario goes, China will concentrate on making the South China Sea a Chinese lake. In its path, however, stands the U.S. alliance system and Japan's refusal to kowtow to Beijing.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 1, 2000

Japan cannot escape nuclear weapons

Special to The Japan Times

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 7, 1999

U.S. alliances under strain

The U.N.-authorized humanitarian intervention in East Timor might provide the model for ad hoc coalitions among democracies in East Asia -- based on the U.S. alliance structure, supported by Washington, but not requiring U.S. combat forces. Australia is leading the International Force for East Timor. Australia will provide some 4,500 troops out of an estimated 7,500.

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