China seeks Trump’s assistance to counter Japan’s support for Taiwan’s freedom amid rising tensions.
As Beege described last week, the new Prime Minister of Japan had a great meeting with President Trump in October which was quickly followed by a war of word between China and Japan over the fate of Taiwan.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sparked a diplomatic spat with China over remarks last week that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically-ruled Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
Until now, Japanese leaders have avoided mentioning Taiwan when publicly discussing such scenarios, maintaining a strategic ambiguity also favoured by Tokyo’s main security ally, the United States.
Her remarks triggered a threatening post from a Chinese diplomat in Japan, while Beijing lodged a formal protest against what it said was blatant interference in its internal affairs.
China has absolutely flipped out over this as it represents a clear challenge to their plan for reunification by force with Taiwan. Since last week the spat has only escalated.
Beijing has halted seafood imports from Japan, canceled concerts in China by Japanese performers, halted many flights to Japan and discouraged Chinese tourists and students from visiting Japan. Three Chinese warships sailed past a Japanese island four days after Ms. Takaichi’s remark, and four Chinese armed coast guard ships have since passed close to Japanese-administered islands north of Taiwan. And China has asked the United Nations to distribute a strong criticism of Ms. Takaichi’s remark to member countries.
On Sunday, Japan’s defense minister visited a military base on Yonaguni island, the western most island belonging to Japan. This island is located just 70 miles east of Taiwan. In fact, it’s closer to Taiwan than the Chinese mainland. Here’s a map.
