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The security alliance the world needs now
The EU and Japan both fret about a world without the US security umbrella; they could ease their fears by moving closer together
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Even before Mr Trump’s return, Europe and Japan both rapidly needed to shift from their peacetime posture to one preparing for war.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Lionel Laurent and Gearoid Reidy
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Japan and the European Union have much in common. They’re two iconic symbols of US-led reconstruction, pacification and democratisation after World War II. Their global rise in the subsequent decades came from outmanufacturing, not outgunning, rivals.
They’ve both been nervously watching security threats mass on their border in the shapes of Russia and China. And now they’re contemplating the risk of US strategic abandonment after a lifetime of reliance on Washington’s security umbrella.
