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Lawrence Chung

Taiwan may come to the fore when the US and Japanese leaders meet next week. 
Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden are also expected to discuss human rights issues in China and ways to counter its growing maritime assertiveness, as well as efforts to denuclearise North Korea when they meet in Washington next Friday. 
Both are also expected to affirm the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait – a topic that could be included in a joint statement after the meeting, according to Nikkei Asia. 
Such a statement would mark a rare public expression of concern about Taiwan by US and Japanese leaders. 
The last time that happened was in 1969 – before the US recognised the People’s Republic of China – when prime minister Eisaku Sato and president Richard Nixon stressed in a statement that Taiwan’s security was crucial for Japan’s security.


 
Observers said that any reference to Taiwan in the joint statement would signal the growing international concern over the issue.
“The security of Taiwan is no longer an issue between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait,” said Wang Ting-yu, a legislator from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party. 
“China’s hegemony in the region and military aggression over Taiwan has highlighted the global concern about Taiwanese security.” 
Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has vowed to retake the island, by force if necessary, has stepped up war games around Taiwan in the past few years. 
It has also warned other countries against backing Taipei – in particular the US, which continues to supply it with defensive arms even after switching formal diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979.
European countries helping with Taiwan’s submarine project, Taipei says
But observers said the US and Japan, as well as countries like Australia and the Europeans, now see mainland China becoming a regional threat as it expands its military power.
“This explains why Japan, which used to be rather conservative when it comes to the Taiwan issue, is considering sending its defence forces to cooperate with the United States to defend Taiwan,” said another DPP legislator Chen Ting-fei. 
Last month Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi told his US counterpart Lloyd Austin that Japan was reviewing the feasibility of sending Japanese Self-Defence Forces to work with US forces in defending Taiwan, “given the strait’s geographical proximity and the possibility of an armed conflict there affecting the safety of Japanese citizens,” according to Kyodo News. 
The talks, which were also attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi, saw the two sides pledge to strengthen their alliance in response to shared concerns over Beijing’s “aggressive actions”. 
Li Da-jung, a professor of international affairs and strategic studies at Tamkang University in Taipei, said that under their mutual defence treaty, “Washington and Tokyo are to assist one another if either’s safety is jeopardised”. 



He continued: “Based on this commitment, if the US is to send forces to help defend Taiwan, Japan will need to think about what role it should play.” 
He said the prospect of Beijing occupying Taiwan and controlling the surrounding seas would threaten Japan’s interests, which “could be why Japan was reported to have considered the feasibility of sending its defence forces to work with the US defending Taiwan”. 
Former Taiwanese defence minister Andrew Yang, however, said Japan was unlikely to take the initiative over Taiwan given the risk of angering Beijing.
“Rather it would focus on issues including mutual defence, the [disputed] Diaoyu Islands and Beijing’s frequent activities around the Diaoyus,” he said. 
US-China rivalry could force unwelcome choices on some countries
The two sides are also expected to discuss joint drills between the two countries in waters around Japan’s westernmost inhabited island of Yonaguni near the Diaoyus – known as the Senkakus in Japan – and Beijing’s introduction of a new coastguard law in February that empowers its coastguard to fire on foreign ships, Yang said. 
In an op-ed on Tuesday, the Chinese newspaper Global Times warned that if the issue of Taiwan security is included in a joint statement after the summit between Biden and Suga, it would have “grave consequences” as the mainland will definitely “take countermeasures against it”. 
Lin Ying-yu, professor of strategic and international affairs at National Chung Cheng University in Chiayi, said Taiwan should consider how to expand its interactions with neighbours such as Japan and Australia to counter increasing military threats from the mainland. 
But Li, from Tamkang University, said: “Though a strong US-Taiwan relationship is necessary, the government should also seek to adopt a cross-strait policy that could ensure stability in the Taiwan Strait and reduce the chance of a cross-strait conflict.”



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Japan

US and Japanese leaders may put Taiwan security centre stage when they meet

A Taiwanese fighter jet shadowed a PLA bomber over Taiwan Strait. Photo: Military News Agency

 Joe Biden and Yoshihide Suga will meet in Washington next week. Photo: AFP

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China

Diplomacy


Joe Biden and Yoshihide Suga will meet in Washington next week
The growing concern over Taiwan’s security may see the two leaders issuing a rare joint statement over the issue



The growing concern over the issue may see Joe Biden and Yoshihide Suga issue a rare joint statement.


Taiwan

US-China relations

US and Japanese leaders may put Taiwan security centre stage when they meet

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Joe Biden and Yoshihide Suga will meet in Washington next week The growing concern over Taiwan’s security may see the two leaders issuing a rare joint statement over the issue

Joe Biden and Yoshihide Suga will meet in Washington next week

The growing concern over Taiwan’s security may see the two leaders issuing a rare joint statement over the issue