INDOPACOM has been sending troops and assets to deal with Middle East contingencies for many years. This is nothing new. If these recent deployments lead to the collapse of the Iranian regime that means the U.S. can truly focus on the Pacific in the future instead of constantly dealing with crisis is the Middle East:

Former senior U.S. officials expressed concerns Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has “vacated” some of America’s key military deterrence assets in the Indo-Pacific amid the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran despite growing Chinese threats in what it calls a “priority” theater.

Their remarks came amid reports that Washington has moved parts of its THAAD missile defense system in South Korea to the Middle East, and is dispatching over 2,000 U.S. Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in Japan to the volatile region, while there is no operational U.S. aircraft carrier in the Indo-Pacific.

“A very large component of the American military capability that is there to deter in the Indo-Pacific has been vacated,” one former U.S. official said in a meeting with reporters.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The irony of a country that regularly fires missiles that land off the coast of Japan and have even fired missiles over the country complaining about Japan deploying their own missiles to protect themselves in response:

North Korea on Friday condemned Japan’s plan to deploy upgraded long-range missiles across the country, calling the move a dangerous military escalation, according to the communist regime’s state-run media. The criticism was reported by the Korean Central News Agency, which said the deployments would allow Japan to target neighboring countries from multiple locations. The missile deployments are “undoubtably an extremely dangerous military act,” KCNA said. “If this becomes reality, Japan would be deploying missiles capable of targeting neighboring countries across the entire nation.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but what the Japanese should do is for every North Korean missile tests that lands near Japan, they should fire a Type-12 missile that lands near North Korea in response.

I understand what Trump is saying, but this is going to be a very hard sell for Korea and Japan to send ships to be involved in an active shooting war to escort tanker ships through the Strait. China on the other hand would likely be reluctant to be seen as helping the U.S. against their ally Iran:

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his calls for South Korea, China, Japan and other countries to help keep the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route off Iran, open amid growing concerns over disruptions to shipping through the vital waterway.

Trump made the calls during a meeting with trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts at the White House, highlighting that the United States’ military has “protected” allies and partners for a long time, and that the U.S. never asked for “reimbursement” for maintaining the strait.

Iran has effectively shut the strait, escalating concerns about the war’s impact on oil prices. The waterway is responsible for about a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

“We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on this strait far more than ours. We get less than 1 percent of our oil from the strait and some countries get much more,” Trump said.

“Japan gets 95 percent. China gets 90 percent. Many of the Europeans get quite a bit. South Korea gets 35 percent. So we want them to come and help us with the strait,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but he is also calling on NATO nations to escort ships as well. He is clearly trying to internationalize the Strait of Hormuz issue to get it reopened. If the Strait is reopened and the U.S. captures Kharg Island where 90% of Iran’s oil is exported from the war is over. The regime will crumble without the oil revenue and global pressure relieved on oil prices with the Strait reopened.

I would have been surprised if K-Pop Demon Hunters did not win these categories because no other movie has had the cultural impact as this movie and its music has had over the past year:

Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters” capped its awards run Sunday (U.S. time) by taking Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

The sensational hit clinched a victory in Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song with “Golden” from its original soundtrack during the 98th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

The dual Oscar wins follow earlier successes at the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards in January, where the animated film swept the same categories. Last month, “Golden” also made history at the Grammy Awards as the first work in the K-pop genre to win Best Song Written for Visual Media.

As the movie’s theme song “Golden” played, co-director Maggie Kang took the stage to accept the Best Animated Feature award in a red dress, alongside co-director Chris Appelhans and producer Michelle L.M. Wong, her voice breaking with emotion.

“For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this,” said Kang, a Korean Canadian filmmaker. “But it is here, and that means that the next generation don’t have to go longing. This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is another Friday the 13th. Be safe out there!

PM Takaichi must be pandering to the voters in Shimane prefecture that supported her party in the last election because this issue is so dumb. There is no way Japan is ever going to have sovereignty over Dokdo. They might as claim sovereignty over Hawaii because they have as much chance of claiming those islands as they do Dokdo:

The presidential office on Friday rejected Japan’s renewed territorial claim over Dokdo, stressing that no sovereignty dispute exists over Korea’s easternmost islets. (….)

The response came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reiterated Tokyo’s claim to the islets and suggested that her government could send a Cabinet member to the annual “Takeshima Day” event. Tokyo refers to Dokdo by its Japanese name, Takeshima.

Speaking Thursday during a session of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, Takaichi said Japan would continue to promote its position on the islets internationally.

“We will clearly let the international community know that Takeshima is Japanese territory,” she said. “We will work to create the conditions so that a Cabinet member will one day attend the Takeshima Day event.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.