Japanese government sources have said, Japanese and U.S. defense chiefs agreed during their
recent meeting in Tokyo to closely cooperate in the event of a military clash between China
and Taiwan.
As per reports, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin brought up the issue when he held talks
with Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, though there was no discussion on how their countries
should coordinate their response to such an emergency.
In a joint statement issued with Japan, Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said,
“China’s behavior, where inconsistent with the existing international order, presents
political, economic, military and technological challenges to the alliance and to the international
community.”
In this video Defense Updates why U.S & Japan are coming together to protect Taiwan?
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China considers Taiwan as part of its territory and is willing to bring it back into its fold
even if it requires force.
In this context, it is important to note that Taiwanese voters have re-elected incumbent
president Tsai Ing-Wen in a landslide election.
This is seen as a sharp rebuke to Beijing and its attempts to intimidate and lure Taiwan
into China’s fold.
She easily defeated her opponent Han Kuo-yu, whose Kuomintang party promotes closer ties
with China.
Since this, China has taken a very hostile stance and has been sending aircraft and ships
to intimidate Taiwan.
The relation between Taiwan–United States is unofficial and informal and is governed
by the Taiwan Relations Act.
The Taiwan Relations Act is designed to maintain ambiguity and does not state if the USA will
or will not intervene militarily if the PRC attacks or invades Taiwan.
Under the act, the U.S is obligated to sell “arms of a defensive character” to Taiwan.
In a speech at the Washington-based think tank American Enterprise Institute, Adm. Philip
Davidson, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said there are concerns about the next six
years as a period when China may look to change the status quo in the region, such as with
Taiwan.
He said there is "a fundamental understanding that the period between now and 2026, this
decade, is the time horizon in which China is positioned to achieve overmatch in its
capability, and when Beijing could, 'could,' widely choose to forcibly change the status
quo in the region."
He said, "And I would say the change in that status quo could be permanent,"
On March 13, in a rare statement about Taiwan, Japan Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo warned
the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait is changing in China’s favor.
As reported by CNA, Kishi stated that China’s advantage was likely to increase year on year.
Clearly, there is consensus that Taiwan is becoming increasingly vulnerable.
According to Japan’s constitution adopted after the Second World War, it is a pacifist
country.
Article 9 of the Japanese constitution states that "The Japanese people forever renounce
war and the threat or use of force.”
It can be argued that acquiring offensive weapons is against the constitution.
But slowly but surely, Japan’s way of looking at this is changing in the face of the Chinese
threat.
There is some agreement within Japan that it needs to reevaluate how Article 9 is to
be interpreted.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought to enable the Japanese Self Defense
Force to have a more aggressive role, mainly due to the activities of China.
Current Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga seems to be taking the same path.
Japan has taken few steps that indicate it is waking up to the Chinese challenge.
This includes adding offensive platforms.
A clear shift in doctrine was witnessed when the Japanese MoD decided to order 42 F-35Bs
for Izumo class aircraft carriers.
This is the first time Japan will field a flattop with fixed-wing fighter jets with
offensive capability.
F 35s bring a lot of advantages over Japan’s current fleet of F15s.
It is stealthy, has much better sensors, and has a far advanced Electronic Counter Measure
suit.
Apart from the basic weapons package, Japan is expected to arm the F 35s with Joint Strike
Missiles (JSM).
Viewers may note that Norway's Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace and Japan's Ministry Of Defense
have signed a deal for JSM.
The important part is that JSM is a dual-role weapon capable of anti-ship as well as land-attack
missions.
Also, Japan is on its way to fielding hypersonic weapons.
Hypersonic weapons can travel with speeds in excess of Mach 5 and this makes it almost
impossible to defend against.
The Defense Ministry allocated a total of 18.5 billion yen [$170 million] in the fiscal
2018 and 2019 budgets for research on HVGPs or Hyper-Velocity Gliding Projectile for the
defense of remote islands, and plans to add another 25 billion yen [$230 million] in the
fiscal 2020 budget,”
Japan's military performed 25 missions in 2020 in defense of US ships or aircraft.
According to an announcement from Japan's Ministry of Defense, the number of what Japan
calls "asset protection" missions was up from 14 in 2019 amid a "severe security environment,"
This signals growing integration between the militaries.
The fall of Taiwan will be a massive blow to regional stability and Japan & the U.S
will be affected adversely Such an event will mean that China will take
up an even more dominating stance and this will not be good news for Japan since it has
a direct dispute with China.
It will also reduce the faith of allies like the Philippines in the U.S and considerably
downgrade America's stature on the global stage.
Keeping this in view, it high time that Japan & the U.S chalks out a plan to protect Taiwan.