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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| Japan warns (China) on Taiwan | |
| 2008-03-13 | |
JAPAN would step away from its official pacifist position and put its military on alert if there was a serious incident in the Taiwan Strait, a senior official said today. In a highly unusual remark for a Japanese official, director general of the defence ministry's defence policy bureau Nobushige Takamizawa, said a contingency over Taiwan would be "a security matter for Japan". Japan would have to "take appropriate actions" in a cross-strait confrontation, he said.
"Because it would be a seriously significant matter for our country, the Self-Defence Forces would obviously step up their alert and surveillance activities before judging whether the contingency is happening in our so-called surrounding area," Mr Takamizawa told a gathering of ruling party lawmakers. "It is not an issue of the Japan-US defence alliance. It is a security matter for Japan," he said. In 2005, the United States and Japan declared Taiwan to be a common security issue for the Pacific allies, angering China which considers Taiwan to be part of its territory. Japan has been working since 2006 to repair relations with China, which have been tense over war memories. Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura declined to directly comment on Takamizawa's remarks but said that China-Taiwan relations were unchanged. "Our position remains the same that the both parties directly involved should peacefully resolve the situation through dialogues," Mr Machimura said. Domestic law allows the Japanese military to offer logistical help, such as providing fuel and supplies, to US forces in case of contingencies in vaguely defined "surrounding areas". Machimura said "surrounding areas" was not a geographical concept but referred to situations that could directly affect Japan's security. The United States is committed to defending both Taiwan and Japan, where it stations more than 40,000 troops. China considers Taiwan a territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. | |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #4 How would the Chinese take it if Japanese maps [sorta like the Paleo map game] instead labeled the island Formosa? Let's remember when everyone talks about how much military the Chinese have, it didn't seem to give the much smaller Japanese forces that much of a problem in the last go around. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-03-13 21:56 |
| #3 How about Former Japanese Colony of Taiwan? The Greeks would like it. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-03-13 21:03 |
| #2 Why is it sensible for China to unify with Tiawan? I'm not sure either nation benefits at all. Taiwan should rename themselves Canada. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-03-13 19:05 |
| #1 That certainly ups the ante. The sensible thing would be for China to unify with Taiwan. You can't blame the Taiwanese for being a reluctant bride Who wants to be part of the World's Largest Police State? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2008-03-13 18:20 |