Esper highlights Washington destabilizer of region not Beijing

Many wars have been started on the pretext of maintaining peace, and many others because the belligerent did not opt for the harder alternative. The defense ministers of the United States and Japan would have done well to reflect on these lessons from history in their meeting in Guam on Saturday, rather than trying to justify the two countries' increasing military presence in waters that belong to neither country.

That US Defense Secretary Mark Esper opened the meeting by highlighting its timing－"Seventy-five years ago this week, the United States and Japan laid down their arms against each other and entered into a durable friendship"－only served to show that the meeting was to affirm that Tokyo remains loyal to Washington's contain-China schemes.

The irrationality of Washington's strategic anxiety is palpable in its constant seeking of reassurance that its allies are on its side.