Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stuck to an aggressive stance over the past 14 months since he took office.

Abe firstly stirred up trouble over the Diaoyu Islands through the "nationalization" of the isles, and then took advantage of the establishment of China's Air Defense Identification Zone to make waves in Sino-Japanese relations.

In the light of a less tense situation in the East China Sea after civil aviation companies from the US and South Korea agreed to report flight plans to China, Abe stirred up the situation again by paying a visit to the Yasukuni Shrine that enshrines 14 class-A war criminals, triggering an outcry from both Seoul and Beijing.

The shrine visit is the most conspicuous provocative gesture yet by the Japanese prime minister. Against the background of US Secretary of State John Kerry's recent visits to South Korea and China and US President Barack Obama's planned visit to Japan in April, there have constantly been headlines in the US mainstream media which set off alarm bells about Abe's hardline nationalism, questioning whether he is a trustworthy partner of Washington.

Kerry's recent visits to South Korea and China struck a blow to Abe's aggressive strategy, implying a slight adjustment and a backslide from the previously solid US backing for Japan over regional security issues in East Asia.

At a recent press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se in Seoul, Kerry pressured Japan because Abe's shrine visit caused confrontation between Seoul and Tokyo, and undermined the unity among the US, Japan and South Korea, a cornerstone of the US pivot to Asia.

Kerry urged "both of them [Japan and South Korea] to work with us [the US] together." He also emphasized the necessity of close trilateral cooperation among Washington, Seoul and Tokyo under the threat of the North Korean nuclear issue, sending a signal against Japan's attempts to warp history. 

These all show Japan's strategic blunders. The US expressed its discontent with Japan acting as a source of tension in East Asia. From the US perspective, unrestrained Japanese moves are likely to have side effects on the US pivot to Asia.

Japan's strategic mistakes first lie in its reckless provocations caused by a heightened sense of threat.

With nine different prime ministers in 10 years, Japanese politicians have failed to find a place for the country in the regional and global system. This is a severe intellectual challenge for the Japanese.

Japan has a strong sense of superiority in Asia. It was rather upset in 2010 when China replaced it as the second biggest economy in the world.

Meanwhile, the country is also very shrewd and sensitive to potential dangers, and it prefers to strike first. That's why Abe now resorts to strategic provocation, through which he intends to deter opponents, while at the same time turning Japan's preemptive actions as a bargaining chip at an advantageous time for bigger compensation if Japan is willing to "compromise."

However, the Abe administration fails to realize that other countries will not buy into the strategic provocation Japan adopts.

For instance, Japan hopes to woo Vietnam into jointly confronting China. Countries like Vietnam and other ASEAN members won't resist economic benefits from Japan, but they will never risk war on Japan's behalf.

Abe anticipates he could hold office for six years. But his aggressive stance in the past 14 months has made him a global concern, including concern from the US. Hopes to involve other neighboring countries into confrontation with China will be in vain.

And Japan's reckless strategic aggression will finally become a burden to the US. Abe's strategic provocations will end up leaving him blundering about without allies.

The author is a research fellow of the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macao Studies at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn