Breaking News: 美日保卫钓岛计划

choi

美日保卫钓岛计划向中国发出强烈信号. VOA Chinese, Mar 21, 2013 (12 Minutes ago).
http://www.voachinese.com/conten ... 130321/1625759.html

My comment:
(a) Latest first in VOA English. Neither VOA English report has a time stamp, but News.google.com labels (1) as "8 hours ago."  The VOA Chinese report is translated from (1).
(i) William Gallo, US, Japan Discuss Plan to Counter China over Disputed Islands. Mar 21, 2013.
http://www.voanews.com/content/u ... slands/1625754.html
(ii) Here was a day-old VOA English report:

Japan, US Drafting Plan to Defend Disputed Islands. Mar 20, 2013.
http://www.voanews.com/content/j ... slands/1625307.html
(b) It seems to me US--specifically the Pentagon--has an about face.

Bill Gertz, The Great Pacific Panic; Pacific Commander: US declines support for Asian allies in sea disputes with increasingly aggressive China
Washington Free Beacon, Dec 6, 2012.
http://freebeacon.com/the-great-pacific-panic/

two consecutive paragraphs:

"The comments regarding Japan also are unusual because the United States has a mutual defense treaty with Tokyo. However, the administration was slow to invoke the treaty as part of the Japan-China spat.

"Concerned by the weak US response, the Senate passed a resolution affirming that an attack on Japan or the Senkakus would be covered by the U.S.-Japan mutual defense treaty