ÇİN’İN ASKERİ YÜKSELİŞİ VE ABD-JAPONYA İTTİFAKI: DENGELEME STRATEJİSİ ÜZERİNE BİR VAKA İNCELEMESİ

Öz

İttifaklar, uluslararası güvenlik ve devletler arası ilişkilerin gündemini belirleyen en temel olgulardan biridir. Devletlerin güvenlik stratejileri ve dış politikalarında önemli ölçüde yeri bulunan ittifaklar savaşların nedenleri ve sonuçları üzerinde de doğrudan veya dolaylı olarak önemli bir etkiye sahiptir. Bu kapsamda, Asya-Pasifik bölgesi son on yıllık dönemde devletler arası güç dengesinde yaşanan değişimlerin net bir biçimde gözlemlendiği ve ittifak sistemlerinin bölgesel güvenlik gündemi üzerinde önemli rol oynadığı bir coğrafya olma özelliği taşımaktadır. Materyal kapasitelerin dağılımındaki değişimler ve silahlanma süreci bir taraftan bölgesel güçler arasındaki belirsizlik ve endişe durumunu giderek yoğunlaştırırken, diğer taraftan bölgesel seviyede sıkı bir askeri ve jeopolitik rekabeti beraberinde getirmektedir. Bu çalışma rekabetin her geçen gün tırmandığı Asya-Pasifik bölgesindeki ittifak oluşumları üzerine kapsamlı bir analiz sunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çin’in hızlı askeri modernizasyonu ve bölgesel seviyede aktif dış politika yaklaşımı Amerika Birleşik Devletleri (ABD) ve Japonya tarafından kendi ulusal güvenliklerine yönelik bir tehdit kaynağı olarak yorumlanmaktadır. Bu tehdit algılamasına cevaben, ABD ve Japonya karşılıklı askeri ilişki ve savunma ortaklıklarını ilerletmekte ve kendi askeri kapasitelerini aşamalı olarak güçlendirmektedir. Bu kapsamda çalışma, ABD ve Japonya’nın Çin’e karşı nasıl ve neden ittifak oluşumuna başvurduğu sorusu üzerine odaklanmaktadır. Çalışma, Çin’den algılanan tehdide yanıt olarak ABD ve Japonya’nın bölgesel pozisyon ve güvenliğini korumak amacıyla bir ittifak kurma yöntemi olan dengeleme stratejisine başvurduğu argümanını ileri sürmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İttifak
• Dengeleme
• ABD-Japonya İttifakı
• Çin
• Asya-Pasifik

CHINA’S MILITARY RISE AND THE US-JAPAN ALLIANCE: A CASE FOR THE BALANCING STRATEGY

Öz

Alliances are crucial and undated phenomena that determine the agenda of international security and inter-state relations. They shape the security strategies and foreign policies of states and have direct or indirect effect on the causes and consequences of wars. In this respect, Asia-Pacific is one of the hottest zones of international politics, where alliance systems play a vital role in relations among regional powers. Over the last decade, extraordinary shifts in the distribution of material capabilities and arms race have intensified uncertainty and anxiety among regional actors in the Asia-Pacific. The new security environment of the region has inevitably brought strict geopolitical competition at the regional level and has made alliances more visible and important than ever before. This article aims to analyze the formation process of alliances in the Asia-Pacific. China's fastened military buildup and modernization as well as its active foreign policy behavior cause its it to be perceived as a threat by the United States (US) and Japan to their national interests. In response, the US and Japan have stepped up their mutual military relations and defense contacts as well as their own independent military capabilities. From this perspective, the question in the study is why and how the US and Japan form a military alliance against China. The study’s argument is that the US and Japan implement balancing strategy by expanding their military and defense relations against the perceived threat from China in order to consolidate their security and preserve their position in the region.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Alliance
• Balancing
• The US-Japan Alliance
• China
• Asia-Pacific

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