Japan rejects 'One China Policy'; removes Taiwan from China's map

Tokyo/ Taipei/ Beijing – Japan, which claimed that Taiwan’s stability is important for it, has given another jolt to China. In the White Paper published by the Japanese foreign ministry, Japan has indicated its withdrawal from the One China Policy. In that, Taiwan has been shown in the China map published alongside the articles about China. This means that Japan considers China an autonomous nation, the analysts cited.

On Tuesday, Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi published a White Paper that mentioned security-related challenges and defence preparedness before Japan. This firmly stated the issue of Taiwan‘s security and stability. ‘The stability of the situation around Taiwan is important, not only for the security of our country but for the stability of the international community,’ the Japanese Defence Ministry emphasised the significance of Taiwan’s security.

Japan, which brought the Taiwan issue to the fore, has given another jolt to China. In the White Paper, a China map has been published in a few articles written about China. The map has shown only China and not Taiwan alongside. As per the ‘One China Policy’ of the Chinese Communist Regime, China and Taiwan are one. Hence, showing Taiwan as part of China on the Chinese map is considered mandatory.

However, the Japanese Defence Ministry has depicted Taiwan and China independent. By showing Taiwan as an autonomous body and mentioning it as independent, Japan, as indicated, does not pay any heed to the One China Policy, claim the analysts. Moreover, the Taiwan government has also acknowledged this iteration by the Japanese government and expressed gratitude towards Japan.

In the past few years, the China-Japan relation has faced ups and downs. Besides, currently, the tensions seem to be mounting. Japan has adopted an aggressive stance against China over the issues such as the constant Chinese intrusion in the East China Sea, the hiding of information regarding Coronavirus, the laws imposed on Hong Kong and the pressure created by China using its economic and military strength. It has come to the fore that the two nations have faced constant verbal clashes and conflict. Moreover, the Taiwan issue has added to this tension, and Japan is strengthening its stance against China. This is proved by the stance adopted and the map recently published in the White Paper by Japan.

Last month itself, Japan had gifted a million vaccines to Taiwan. Following that, the Japanese Prime Minister had referred to Taiwan as a nation in a parliamentary session. All the more, news had surfaced that Japan had passed a resolution to include Taiwan in World Health Assembly with maximum votes. The back-to-back steps being taken by Japan in support of Taiwan has certainly left China restless.