A top Japanese defense official on Friday urged US president-elect Joe Biden to “be strong” in supporting Taiwan in the face of an aggressive China, calling the nation’s safety a “red line.”
“We are concerned China will expand its aggressive stance into areas other than Hong Kong. I think one of the next targets, or what everyone is worried about, is Taiwan,” Japanese State Minister of Defense Yasuhide Nakayama said in an interview.
Nakayama urged Biden to take a similar line on Taiwan as US President Donald Trump, who has significantly boosted military sales to the nation and increased engagement with it.
Photo: Reuters
Japan’s engagement with Taiwan has also flourished in the past few years on a largely non-governmental basis.
Tokyo maintains a “one China” policy, delicately balancing its relationships with neighboring giant China and its longtime military ally in Washington.
Japan shares strategic interests with Taiwan, which sits in sea lanes through which much of Japan’s energy supplies and trade flow.
“So far, I haven’t yet seen a clear policy or an announcement on Taiwan from Joe Biden. I would like to hear it quickly, then we can also prepare our response on Taiwan in accordance,” Nakayama said.
During the presidential campaign, Biden called for strengthening ties with Taiwan and other “like-minded democracies.”
Decades ago as a US senator, Biden questioned whether the US had an “obligation” to defend Taiwan, but many in his foreign policy circles acknowledge that US imperatives have changed as a rising, authoritarian China has become more assertive and sought to shape global institutions.
An official in Biden’s transition team said that the president-elect believes US support for Taiwan “must remain strong, principled and bipartisan.”
“Once in office, he will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people of Taiwan,” the official said.
Beijing has been angered by increased US support for Taiwan, including arms sales and visits to Taipei by senior US officials, further straining already poor US-China ties.
“Taiwan is China’s internal affair,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said on Friday. “We firmly oppose interference in China’s internal affairs by any country or anyone by any means.”
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that there was strong bipartisan US support for Taiwan based on the “shared language” of freedom and democracy.
“Taiwan looks forward to working closely with the Biden team, to continue to steadily improve Taiwan-US relations on the basis of the existing solid friendship,” she said.
US officials in Tokyo could not be reached as the embassy was closed for Christmas.
“There’s a red line in Asia: China and Taiwan,” Nakayama said, citing a red line that former US president Barack Obama declared over Syria’s use of chemical weapons — a line Damascus then crossed.
Biden was Obama’s vice president.
“How will Joe Biden in the White House react in any case if China crosses this red line?” said Nakayama, who attended a memorial for former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in August, before taking his defense position.
“The US is the leader of the democratic countries. I have a strong feeling to say: America, be strong,” Nakayama said.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RSS