Japanese State Minister of Defense Yasuhide Nakayama on Monday warned of a growing threat posed by Chinese and Russian collaboration, and said it was necessary to “wake up” to Beijing’s pressure on Taiwan and protect it “as a democratic country.”
Speaking to the Hudson Institute think tank, Nakayama questioned whether the decision of many countries, including Japan and US, to follow a “one China” policy that has recognized Beijing over Taipei since the 1970s would stand the test of time.
“Was it right?” he asked at the online event, referring to how future generations would judge policymakers on the issue. “I don’t know.”
Photo: Reuters
Democratic countries have to protect each other, he said, adding that he had in the past referred to Taiwan as a “red line.”
“So we have to protect Taiwan as a democratic country,” he said.
Japan and Taiwan are geographically close, and if something happened in Taiwan, it would affect Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, where US forces and their families are based, he said.
“We are not friends of Taiwan, we are brothers,” he said.
Nakayama highlighted growing threats posed by China in space, in missile technology, in the cyberdomain, and in nuclear and conventional forces, and said that under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) leadership, it had “aggressive, aggressive ... thought and will.”
“So wake up. We have to wake up,” he said.
Nakayama’s comments drew an angry response from Beijing, with Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) saying: “We deplore the erroneous remarks by the senior official of the Japanese government, and we have lodged solemn representations.”
Nakayama had “falsely accused” China over “normal national defense developments,” he told a regular media briefing.
“This is highly sinister, dangerous and irresponsible. This politician also openly called Taiwan a country, in serious violation of the China-Japan joint statement,” he said.
“We urge the Japanese government to make a clarification and ensure this will not happen again,” he said.
Nakayama said it was necessary to show deterrence to China as well as Russia, which had stepped up exercises in Japanese-claimed territory and near Hawaii.
“You can see China and Russia collaborating together, when they are doing some military exercise around our neighbors,” Nakayama said, adding that he wanted to see the US “stronger, stronger and stronger.”
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS