Tokyo/Beijing – Japan is taking a stronger, comprehensive stand on the Taiwan issue. Last week, Japan’s defence minister said that Taiwan’s security was linked to Japan’s security. Now, Japan’s deputy defence minister referred to Taiwan as a ‘democratic country’ and has appealed to other democracies that it is necessary to pay heed to Taiwan’s security. Japan’s mention of Taiwan as a democracy has not been well received by China. The Chinese foreign minister has warned that Japan is making a serious mistake.
Two days ago, China and Russia announced the expansion of the Friendship Treaty. The chief of both countries said that the expansion of cooperation was needed because of the growing pressure from the West. While speaking at a virtual meeting with the US think-tank at the Hudson Institute, Japan’s Deputy Defence Minister Yasuhide Nakayama criticised the cooperation between China and Russia. In particular, Nakayama questioned the decision of the United States and Japan to support China’s One China policy rather than to support Taiwan’s democracy since the 1970s.
The leaders who support the One China policy will be answerable for their decisions for generations to come. Democratic countries must protect each other, and Taiwan must be considered as the red line for democratic countries. Nakayama warned that the other countries need to wake up to the security of a democratic country like Taiwan. At the same time, Japan and Taiwan are geographically close countries, and if Taiwan’s security is threatened, it will directly impact the security of the Japanese island of Okinawa. That would jeopardise the safety of American soldiers and their families on the island of Okinawa, Nakayama stated.
Like Japan’s Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi, Nakayama is considered a big Taiwan supporter as well. A few weeks ago, Nakayama held talks with the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in India, Lobsang Sangay. Nakayama also opposed Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s visit to Japan last year.
Meanwhile, China slammed Japan’s Deputy Defence Minister Nakayama for referring to Taiwan as a ‘democratic country’. Taiwan is a sovereign territory of China. This statement by the Japanese Deputy Defence Minister was absolutely wrong; it violated the One China policy, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
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