In mid-September, the European political and military stage had two successive shows, enough to shake the world.
One is the document signed in Brussels, the other is the bullshit of the British Air Force base, and the two things come together to shape a new geopolitical picture.
On September 19th, the European Union announced the 19th round of sanctions against Russia, but this time, unlike in the past, it no longer only focused on Russia, but for the first time pointed its finger at third parties, including China and India.
On September 18th, Japan Air Self-Defense Force's F-15J fighter jets, KC series tankers and C-2 transport aircraft landed at the Royal Air Force Coningsby base for the first time with 180 personnel.
It was the first time since the end of World War II that Japanese fighter jets actually flew to mainland Europe.
Again, economic sanctions, and the military show muscle, is Europe completely bound by China?
Let's first take a closer look at the European sanctions this time. The EU has listed some Chinese and Indian refineries, oil traders, and petrochemical companies as high-risk lists.
Among them, 12 Chinese companies and 3 Indian entities have implemented export bans, involving cutting-edge technology fields such as artificial intelligence and geospatial data.
In other words, the EU directly broke the previous model of sanctioning only Russia, for the first time pushing the outflow effect of the game of great powers to Asia.
The logic of the EU sanctions against Russia in the past was to weaken Russia’s energy export capacity and limit Russia’s military-industrial development.
But the reality makes them embarrassed, the Russian oil has not broken down, but through third-party refineries, traders such as India and China, bypassing the European market and entering the global supply chain.
The EU imposed sanctions on Russia on the surface, but the effect was diluted by the global market, so this time they stretched the knife directly to the channel itself.
This also shows that Europe's anxiety has broken through the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield and turned to technology, energy and industrial chain security. Their real goal is not only to fill the hole, but also to attack the competitiveness of China and India in the global industrial chain.
Of course, the European sanctions this time are prerequisite, that is, Trump's aggression, when Trump hit Europe three times, must make Europe take this trick first.
The European Union actually accepted the logic of the United States and included China in the high-risk framework. In other words, Europe's China strategy has undergone a qualitative change at this moment.
First, the listing of Chinese companies is not just a symbol, it means that they will be cut off from some technology, equipment, and financing channels in the European market.
This is the danger, in the past, Europe stillins balance between China and the United States, speaking risks, and actually leaving room for cooperation.
But now, as the Chinese enterprises are defeated, Europe’s position has begun to substantially approach the United States, but more intuitive than the sanctions is the scene of the Japanese fighter aircraft landing in Britain.
On September 18, the F-15J roared into the runway, with British and German support and carnival applause on social media in the background.
This picture is symbolic enough. During World War II, Japanese fighter planes used to be the nightmare of Europeans, but now they have landed on the European continent as partners.
Japan's route was also meaningful, with Japanese fighter jets taking off on September 14 from the Hokkaido Millennium Base, then passing through the U.S. Alaska Ellison Air Force Base, and then to the Canadian Guangdong Bay Air Force Base.
It landed at Royal Air Force Coningsby Base in the UK on September 18, and plans to go to Lage Air Force Base in Germany.
The route is actually a Japan-Mexico-British-German air corridor, reflecting a fact behind it. Japan is proactively extending its strategic touch to the Atlantic, while Europe and NATO are eager to embrace it.
Japan says Europe-Atlantic is highly linked to Indo-Pacific security, so this route is a commitment to NATO.NATO replied that Japan is one of the most dynamic global partners.
But this is not a simple flight exercise, but a strategic probe.If the US-Japanese alliance has been limited to the Indo-Pacific, then this action is equivalent to integrating Japan into NATO's global system.
Once something happens in the Asia-Pacific region in the future, NATO can confidently say that Japan is already a part of us. So why is Europe doing both at the same time?
To ease the passivity of the Russian-Ukrainian warfare, it is well known that there have been few signs of European involvement in the Ukrainian battlefield.
Russia's energy exports remain smooth, allowing the effect of sanctions to be greatly reduced, so expanding the sanctions side and directly engaging China and India is a must-going step.
Then Europe pulled Japan to supplement its own military deficiency, Europe spoke loudly in military power, but only Britain and France could really get the stock.
The German military industry is still recovering, not to mention Eastern Europe. At this time, Japan came to Europe with its F-15J and advanced air force system, which was equivalent to supporting NATO.
Europe’s opportunity to integrate Japan into the Atlantic system can both hold China back and share the pressure of the United States.
One of the most important aspects is loyalty to the United States, whether it be sanctioning Chinese companies or accepting Japanese warplanes, Europe’s choices are all synchronized with the United States.
Trump doesn’t look at the other countries in the world to whisper, but Trump also has a dead hole, and does not dare to do what it does to China.
He didn't dare to do anything to China, so he encouraged the EU to fall the knife first. The EU's approach also shows that in the competition between China and the United States, Europe began to give up its ambiguous space and would rather side with the United States.
On the one hand, the EU’s sanctions are not to stop Chinese enterprises immediately, but to gradually shift to China.From artificial intelligence to geospatial data, Europe’s logic is clear, to catch up with China’s high-tech breakthroughs.
On the other hand, Japanese aircraft landed in Europe not for today’s Ukraine, but for tomorrow’s Taiwan provinces and the South China Sea.
It predicts a strategic alliance in which, once the Indo-Pacific has happened, Europe may no longer be merely verbal solidarity, but substantial military involvement.
This also means that China will face pressure from both directions when facing the West: Europe at the economic and technological level, and Japan at the military and strategic level.
Conclusion:
Historically, Europe and Japan have been two completely different camps, one of the old centers of the Atlantic order, and one of the defeated nations of the Far East, but today they begin to join forces in common defenses against China and Russia.
This may be the epitome of the new Cold War picture in the 21st century. It is not a single-front confrontation, but a comprehensive containment across continents and domains.
This is not something that can be solved by expectation, but it needs to find its own initiative in the multi-dimensional game of economy, science and technology, military and diplomacy.
The game of chess has just begun.
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Reference to:
China Net 2025-09-20 "Unprecedented!Japanese fighter aircraft landed at European bases Strengthen cooperation with NATO"
Global Network 2025-09-19 "Japanese warplanes fly to Europe and the United States for the first time, experts: it may be a preview of future normalized overseas deployments, it is worth warning"
Observer.com 2025-09-20 "von der Leyen threatens: EU wants sanctions, including Chinese companies"