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There is a burgeoning literature that deals with military implications of the new law of the sea regime. Within that literature, the range of predictions could hardly be wider. One author has argued that the rules emerging from the Third United Nations' Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS Ill) signal the exclusion of naval forces from all but friendly waters. 1 But another knowledgeable writer has hypothesized that naval diplomacy will become more effective because deployed forces will be able to cross new symbolic "borders. "2 Despite the disparate conclusions, however, the analysts have with few exceptions projected a new era In which "freedom of the seas" will be a concept under ever-increasing challenge, 3

The role of the United States in the security of Japan is an issue that has received relatively little official attention, despite significant developments in Northeast Asia over the past decade. These developments, clearly more than isolated or temporary phenomena, are relevant to the U.S.·Japan security alliance in at least three respects. First, the U.S. commitment to Japan has, in Japan's perception, lost much of its credibility. Second, Improved relations between Japan and the People's Republic of China {PRC) raise the prospect of a shift in the strategic balance of power in Asia. And third, the Soviet Union has significantly increased its use of military forces to exert political pressure on Japan. Each development requires careful examination in terms of its implications for both United States and Japanese interests.