Looking North: Taiwan's Relations with Japan under Chen Shui-bian

Abstract

5th January 2007 the first high-speed express trains began to run between Taiwan's largest two cities, Taipei and Kaohsiung. Modelled on Japan's highly successful shinkansen (bullet trains), these trains were not just a significant export success for Japanese manufacturers, but also symbolized the extent to which Taiwan's relationship with Japan has been quietly but steadily developing. Indeed, efforts to enhance the bilateral relationship with Japan were a particular feature of the external policies of the government of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, who adopted a more assertive and engaged attitude towards Japan compared even with his immediate predecessor, Lee Teng-hui, who was widely seen as being proJapanese. In turn, successive Japanese governments have responded, quietly but positively, to match the Taiwanese moves. Both sides have been trying to break away from the relatively static framework of low-key commercial contacts and unofficial political interactions, which had endured since the early 1970s, by advancing their bilateral economic, political and security exchanges in a significant manner. This understated relationship has been consequently undergoing a qualitative change. This article examines the dynamics and motivations behind this Taiwanese courting of Japan, the reasons for the reciprocal interest from Japan, and the extent to which this strengthening relationship is encouraged or constrained by the two powers' complex relationships with China and the United States (US) } In this context, the unpublicized but discernible increase in security-related interactions between Japan and Taiwan is given particular emphasis.