Taiwan and Japan's Security: Anatomy of Japanese Approaches to the Taiwan Issue

Abstract

The article analyzes Japan's approaches to the Taiwan issue from the point of view of ensuring its national security. In recent years, as the balance of power between the United States and China has shifted in favor of the latter in the Asia-Pacific region, Japanese politicians, statesmen and experts have increasingly spoken out about Taiwan's place in the country's security sphere. At the same time, they directly link Taiwan's security with Japan's security and openly declare the need to help protect Taiwan from China's "aggressive encroachments." Beijing, on the other hand, considers Taiwan to be a temporary breakaway part of its country and firmly intends to seek the "historical reunification" of Taiwan with mainland China, without excluding the possibility of using armed force for this purpose. In fact, Tokyo began to move away from the policy of delicate balancing between Washington and Beijing in their growing confrontation in the Taiwan Strait and began more clearly to declare its interest in maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan issue, i.e. in maintaining the de facto political independence of Taiwan as a deterrent to a growing China. Despite all the calls in Japan for the need to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances in Taiwan, until recently there was relatively little discussion in the country about why and under what conditions Japan should be involved in resolving the Taiwan issue. However, recently there has been an active discussion of this issue in the political sphere of the country. At the same time, careful preparations are being made for the possible involvement of Japan in military operations if the confrontation between the United States and China over the future fate of Taiwan turns into a "hot" stage.