Japan Defense Paper warns for the first time the problems in Taiwan | Another Story

The annual security report calls on the Japanese government to address the US-China conflict in Taiwan with ‘more complex ideologies than ever before’.

Japan, in its annual White Paper on Security, has warned of growing tensions in Taiwan, as well as economic and technical tensions between China and the United States, which could threaten peace and stability in East Asia.

This was the first time that I reported (PDF) – which was approved by the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday – has resolved the issue of stability in Taiwan.

“China has also expanded military operations around Taiwan in addition to Chinese airlines landing in southwestern Taiwan,” the report said in a new statement in Taiwan. “In the meantime, the United States has expressed its commitment to support Taiwan in its military activities, such as US naval voyages through the Taiwan Strait and arms sales.”

Establishing what is happening in Taiwan, he says, is critical to Japan’s security and international stability.

“As a result, it is important for us to make the most of the situation,” he said.

For Japan, the recent developments in Beijing on military operations around Taiwan are worrying because the autonomous island is located near the Okinawa chain on the western tip of the Japanese archipelago.

Beijing claims that Taiwan is a part of it, and it has never stopped using force to reclaim the island.

Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to end “reconciliation” with Taiwan, with Chinese forces in June calling the US a “terrorist” in the region as a U.S. warship passed a narrow path separating Taiwan and Chinese on the mainland.

As tensions escalate, Tokyo has been outspoken on the issue, Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister Taro Asa said earlier this month that Japan would join the US in defending Taiwan in any war.

Aso’s comments were immediately criticized from Beijing, where a Foreign Ministry spokesman said he had “disrupted the political base between China and Japan”.

Aso later echoed his comments by saying that anything that could happen in Taiwan should be resolved through dialogue.

Japan’s white defense newspaper also identified the South China Sea as another important area for US-China competition.

“At the South China Sea, China is expanding its military operations, including missile launches and aerospace training,” the newspaper said.

“Meanwhile, in July 2020, the United States condemned China’s maritime claims that it was illegal, and it undermined its views against China in the fight for the right to navigation and military aviation operations.”

As a result, it said, it was necessary to pay close attention to the two superpowers in Taiwan and the South China Sea.

The defense paper, also for the first time, also included a section on threats posed by climate change, which is said to increase local and economic competition, and could trigger a refugee movement.

Increasing disasters linked to global warming could also boost military capacity, it said, while the melting of ice sheets in the Arctic Ocean could lead to wars in the northern hemisphere.