Japan has referred to Taiwan as an “extremely important partner” in its annual defense white paper, which was released Friday and showed a significantly wider coverage of the Taiwan issue from the previous year.
The document, titled “Defense of Japan 2022,” says that Taiwan is an “extremely important partner for Japan, sharing the same fundamental values such as freedom and democracy,” and the stability of the situation surrounding Taiwan is also critical for Japan’s security.
The Taiwan issue, therefore “must be closely monitored with a sense of urgency while cooperating with the international community, based on the recognition that changes to the status quo by coercion are globally shared challenges,” the English version of the report states.
Meanwhile, the conflict between China and the United States is also becoming prominent, due to the Taiwan issue, it says.
For instance, the U.S. issued “New Guidelines” last year to encourage interaction with Taiwanese officials, demonstrating its commitment to accelerating its involvement with Taiwan, according to the white paper.
China, meanwhile, sent an increased number of military aircraft into the airspace southwest of Taiwan last year and has announced that it is conducting field training in the sea and airspace around Taiwan, the paper says.
“China has made clear that it would not hesitate to unify Taiwan by force, further increasing tensions in the region,” Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi is quoted as saying in the paper.
He also criticized China as continuing to unilaterally change, or attempt to change, the status quo in the East China Sea and South China Sea by coercion.
On the issue of Taiwan’s self-defense, the report says the overall military balance is tilting in China’s favor, and the gap appears to be growing each year.
More attention should be paid to trends such as the strengthening of Chinese and Taiwanese forces, the sale of weapons to Taiwan by the U.S., and Taiwan’s development of its own military equipment, it states.
In addition to the cross-Taiwan Strait issue, the white paper addresses the war between Ukraine and Russia, saying the latter’s aggression is intolerable, as it has shaken the very foundation of international order, which is based on universal values and supports peace and prosperity in the international community.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel