Taiwan in Japan's Relations with China and the United States after the Cold War

Abstract

he Taiwan question had been a major cause of tensions in Japan's relations with China in the early part of the cold war as Japan supported American containment strategy toward China and maintained a close relationship with the Republic of China [ROC] in Taiwan. It was not until 1972 thatJapan and China reached a settlement on Taiwan, when the two countries established diplomatic relations. Japan's official recognition of China's sovereignty on Taiwan, as a result of diplomatic normalisation, provided an important basis for bilateral relations to flourish in subsequent years. China's economic and political ascendancy has, however, generated increasing tensions between the two countries over China's nuclear tests, the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku island off the Eastern China sea and other issues. Taiwan has re-emerged as a contentious issue that threatens to unravel China's relations with Japan. In the aftermath of China's missile tests in the Taiwan strait in early 1996,Japan has committed itself to providing logistical support for American military operations in the Taiwan strait under the revised U.S.-Japan security cooperation guidelines. How do theJapanese perceive China and Taiwan after the cold war? How hasJapan's policy toward China and Taiwan changed in recent years? What are the factors shaping Tokyo's relations with mainland China and Taiwan? How have the revised U.S.-Japan security cooperation guidelines affected Japan's relations with mainland China and Taiwan? How will the revised security guidelines shape Japan's future relations with China? These are the major questions to be addressed in this paper. The arguments of this paper are as follows. The Taiwan issue has once again posed a formidable challenge toJapan's stable relations with China as a result of China's rapid international ascendancy and Taiwan's democratisation. Especially, Japan's new security commitment under the revised security guidelines has placed Tokyo in a very difficult position between preserving its alliance with the United States and maintaining stable relations with China. While Tokyo's best hope is to see a peaceful resolution of cross-strait conflicts, Tokyo may have to provide logistical support for American military intervention in the event of armed conflicts in the Taiwan strait, even at the risk of triggering a confrontation with China.