The G7 summit in Japan is just a "kabuki dance" of feigned support for US confrontation with China, says an Asian-based author.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted US president Joe Biden and leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and the European Union in the city destroyed by the US in the world's first atomic bombing in August 1945.
"There's 90 countries going to Saint Petersburg next month. Everybody wants to join the BRICS," Bradley pointed out. "So the statement they're going to issue at the G7 is we have to watch out about China's economic aggression."
But he argued that Biden's credibility in the Asia-Pacific region had been damaged by his government's "economic aggression" in seizing of hundreds of millions worth of Russian-owned assets and finances following the launch of the military operation in Ukraine.
"So when the Asian countries say: 'goodbye, Mr President' and he leaves, they're going to then turn to China. That's their number one trading partner."
While the Japanese government is now painting China as a threat to justify ditching its post-WWII constitutional imperative of armament only for self-defence, the historian said the real danger was from the US.
"Every Japanese lives within 80 kilometers of an American soldier. Americans, ask yourself why we need 55,000 troops, 45,000 dependents," Bradley stressed. "Why do we need 100,000 Americans to occupy Japan? The military threat to Japan comes from the United States, and Japan has to salute and say: 'we'll double our military budget and buy more Lockheed equipment. Yes, sir'."
The "kabuki dance" of support for Biden's confrontation with Beijing will go on only until his plane takes off for Washington, the author argued.
"The only country that's talking about war with China is America. The Asian countries want to trade with China." Bradley said.
"They don't want to be liberal democracies. They don't want to have their cities looking like San Francisco. They don't want to have a divided populous like the United States. They want to be like Singapore. They want to trade," he continued. "There is more freedom in Asia than America. There's freedom to walk the streets at 11 pm safely."
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