Regarding Paul Gaysford's Aug. 8 letter, "Time for collective self-defense": China's aggressive posture is a cause of fear among a number of countries in Asia, and it is the reason that Japan wants to change Article 9 of its U.S.-imposed Constitution so that a collective defense of Asia can be established.
China has already invaded India, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and even Russia. All these countries should array their defense forces against China. The United States or Australia will not provide help, as both have extensive economic links with China that they won't sacrifice. For the same reason Russian help can be ruled out. Thus, Japan, as it did in 1942, should provide the leadership in this anti-Chinese defense arrangement. In 1942, Japan recognized the Free Indian Government under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose and created the Indian National Army to liberate India from the British colonialists.
Asian people now welcome Japan's recent assertiveness under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abolition of Article 9 and creation of a collective defense arrangement with the victims of China are thus essential and logical. At the same time, Japan should ban all imports from China to teach it a lesson.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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