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A Chinese military vessel (back R)—some 5 miles away—observing as the Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyers USS Sterett (front) and the USS Rafael Peralta (behind) are seen from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier as they join a three-day maritime exercise between the United States and Japan in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 31, 2024. Richard a. Brooks/AFP via Getty Images
A U.S. Navy destroyer, USS Rafael Peralta, recently visited Japan’s Ishigaki Island, between Okinawa and Taiwan. It wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms. At first, the local authorities refused permission for the ship to dock, claiming the water wasn’t deep enough. They later relented, but the local dockworkers union went on strike to protest the ship’s visit.
Grant Newsham is a retired U.S. Marine officer and a former U.S. diplomat and business executive with many years in the Asia/Pacific region. He is a senior fellow with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies (Tokyo) and Center for Security Policy and the Yorktown Institute in Washington, D.C. He is the author of the best selling book “When China Attacks: A Warning to America.”
