Flashpoints Okinawa

Located between the tip of Japan and Taiwan, Okinawa is a tiny island of huge geopolitical importance. Its US military bases means it has the attention of both China and North Korea. Okinawa is a tiny island of huge geopolitical importance. Located between the tip of Japan’s mainland and Taiwan, it hosts key US military bases, which have played a contested and controversial role on the island. In addition, the sovereignty of some of Okinawa's outlying territory is disputed by China and its future is tied closely to the competing strategies over Taiwan. It is also a potential target for North Korean missiles aimed at American military assets on the islands. In this short and revealing book, Ra Mason explores why and how this island paradise and the waters around it could trigger great power conflict.