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Military attack on Taiwan would be ‘suicidal’ for Beijing, former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe warns
- He says Beijing must be urged not to pursue territorial expansion and calls threat to Taiwan and its democracy ‘a dire challenge to all of us’
- Abe also tells security forum that Taiwan, Japan and the US must work together and ‘build our capabilities in all domains’
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Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has warned that it would be “suicidal” for Beijing to invade Taiwan, amid rising tensions in the region.
He also said Taiwan, Japan and the United States must strengthen their capabilities and work together to counter security threats.
Abe – who remains influential in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan – made the comments in a video address to the Taiwan-US-Japan Trilateral Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue in Taipei on Tuesday.
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“An adventure in military affairs, if pursued by such a huge economy like China’s, could be suicidal to say the least,” Abe said.
“We must urge them not to pursue territorial expansion and restrain from provoking, often bullying, their neighbours because it would harm their own interests.”
Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the self-governed island under its control. It has warned Japan, the US and other countries against having official contacts with Taipei or offering military support for the island, especially since Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party was elected president and refused to accept the one-China principle.
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