Comment on "Islands vow 'may backfire'" (China Daily website, April 25)

US President Barack Obama's shortsightedness is clearly evident in his so-called pivot to Asia policy. Obama is haunted by the fear that China will overtake the US, which he is desperately trying to prevent. And by seeking Japan's help in his efforts to contain China, he is inviting trouble for the US.

What will happen if Japan succeeds in its attempt to transform itself into a big military power? A look into Japan's history will show that it simply cannot handle power right. The history of shoguns shows that whenever a shogun became relatively strong, he used intrigue and force to attack and decimate the weaker ones. Japan was a strong military power in the 1930s, and the terror it unleashed on its neighbors then has no parallel in human history.

Obama's ignorance of history and his shortsighted preoccupation with containing China will eventually endanger not just China and Asia, but the United States as well.

Objective, from China Daily forum

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(China Daily 04/30/2014 page9)