For decades, the security architecture of the Indo-Pacific has resembled a wheel: the United States as the hub, with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines as its primary spokes.?
That model is not disappearing, but it is undergoing a quiet upgrade. Tokyo is gradually positioning itself as a secondary connector ¡ª a strategic hub for middle-power security diplomacy that reinforces the U.S.-led order while diversifying Japan¡¯s own security partnerships.
Two major shifts in Tokyo¡¯s recent trajectory are said to be behind this evolution.?
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