Team of Rivals: U.S., China Come to Japan’s Quake Aid
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Team of Rivals: U.S., China Come to Japan’s Quake Aid
As Japan’s needs mount in the aftermath of its earthquake, tsunami and radiological disasters, the United States and China are putting aside their regional differences to help the Japanese recover, offering up military and emergency services for assistance.
Japan and the United States have had their share of tensions with China lately, thanks to feuds over U.S.-Korean exercises near China’s borders and disputes between China and Japan over where those borders actually lie, among other issues.
But since the earthquake hit on Friday, tensions have given way to cooperation, as Japan’s closest ally and biggest rival have pitched in to help. While the two big Pacific powers aren’t launching any joint relief operations in Japan at the moment, their aid efforts point to the hopeful prospect for some regional confidence-building in the future — or, at the least, what Pacific disaster assistance looks like in an age where both China and the United States dominate the area.