japan's geographical location means it is stuck in between some of the most erratic countries in the
world flanked by china to itself north korea to the west and vladimir putin's russia to the north
the land of the rising sun can barely catch a break japan knows well enough that it is
virtually impossible to single-handedly defend its territory against all of these adversaries
which is why it signed a security pact with the united states many decades ago but for smaller
and seemingly defenseless countries like taiwan surviving in the chaotic indo-pacific region is a
real struggle in recent times taiwan's sovereignty has increasingly come under threat from china
and although the united states does not have any diplomatic ties with taiwan both countries
share a healthy but unofficial relationship this suggests that the united states could
at least provide military aid to taiwan if it comes under attack recently president joe biden
was asked if he would intervene militarily should china invade taiwan and his response was emphatic
yes that's the commitment we make however japan is looking to squash china's threats early on so
it doesn't degenerate into a full-blown war in an interesting twist the land of the rising sun
has offered its islands to the united states military in a bid to stop china's advancement
even before it begins while the united states and japan have strong diplomatic ties some have
questioned whether japan's offer is legal given the complexity of the situation article 6 of the
security treaty signed by the united states and japan stipulates that the united states
military forces are allowed to use facilities and areas within japan for security missions that
will contribute to the safety of the country and the peace of the entire far east region
so clearly japan has done no wrong by inviting the u.s military to set up a base on its territory
to stop china's potential invasion of taiwan but apparently japan would also play an active role in
this task in fact the mission has been described as a joint operation between both countries and
a plan has been outlined already during a two plus two meeting of foreign and defense
ministers earlier this year in the case that china delivers on its promise to invade taiwan the u.s
marine corps will immediately set up temporary camps across the nan say or rikuyu chains of
islands which consist of more than 100 individual islands that extend deep into the southwest region
of taiwan a local media outlet kyodo news agency claims that the japanese self-defense force will
provide logistical support as required by the u.s military ranging from fuel supplies to ammunition
this development will most likely infuriate the people's republic of china which looks determined
to impose its will on the citizens of taiwan at all costs currently the united states has several
military bases in japan including 31 military installations in okinawa alone representing 70
percent of the entire u.s military installations in the country okinawa is about 500 kilometers
north of taiwan and u.s military officials view it as a focal point in the proposed joint mission
between its forces and the japanese self-defense corps launching deterrence operations from the
okinawa prefecture against chinese forces sailing through the taiwan strait would put the citizens
in the region at risk however this mission is one that cannot be avoided if the united states and
japan are serious about stopping china in its tracks both countries have maintained a robust
democratic and military relationship since the 1950s and they look set to uphold that
relationship going into the future even in the face of threats from china the pentagon reinforced
this commitment earlier this year we are committed to enhancing resiliency and interoperability
between the u.s and japanese forces and deepening operational cooperation during peacetime and
various regional contingencies the pentagon said in an official statement the exact territory of
this joint base will be tentative as they will be required to switch locations from time to time to
avoid potential attacks from chinese forces but at every given point the u.s military in japanese
forces participating in the mission will be armed with sophisticated weapons ready to engage any
opposition in sight this proposed joint operation is just one of many that the united states and
japan plan to use to curb china's threats japan's prime minister fumio kashida has recently embarked
on a diplomatic tour of southeast asia and europe to drum up support and strengthen
the country's relationship with allies kashida believes that if china is not put in check the
world might see a similar situation to the russia ukraine crisis play out in the indo-pacific region
only a few weeks ago more than 50 u.s and japanese fighter jets put on a show of force in a
deterrence operation off the coast of japan about a dozen u.s aircraft including the f-35s f-22s and
f-15s were on parade as well tokyo officials say the exercise was conducted to strengthen
the capability of the japan-u.s alliance for effective deterrence according to reports japan is
currently stockpiling weapons with counter-attack capabilities that would allow its military forces
to strike deep into enemy territories this signifies a paradigm shift in the country's
long-standing policy of developing and purchasing self-defense and deterrence weapons only
japan wants to be able to stand up for itself in a fight the country has a very strong section of the
population who don't want to be reliant on outside powers in order to be able to make decisions that
might or may not risk its sovereignty cleo pascal and indo-pacific security experts said you might
be wondering why japan is showing plenty of interest and ensuring that taiwan is safe it is
not hard to work out really japan's prime minister fumio kishida mentioned in a recent interview that
90 of the energy used by japan is imported through the areas around taiwan furthermore the japanese
defense ministry believes that the peace and stability across the taiwan street is extremely
important for japan's security as well as the stability of the international community during
the u.s japan trilateral indo-pacific security dialogue held last year taiwan's president xia ing
wen expressed worry at the extraordinary security challenges facing his country while insisting
that his country will not bow to pressure he also thanked the us and japan for the support
so far and also called for greater partnership between the three countries the expectation is
that stronger ties between the united states japan and taiwan should be enough to deter or defeat
china depending on the situation however security analysts believe that a war situation along the
taiwan strait will come with severe consequences to all parties involved in fact it is believed
that any attempt by china's potential invasion of taiwan was a more difficult and complex mission
than the allied d-day landings in france during world war ii around half a million soldiers lost
their lives in the war campaign that lasted three months that gives you a fair idea of
how catastrophic the potential invasion of taiwan could turn out to be the civilian casualties would
be worse considering that taiwan has a population of 24 million with an average of 9575 people per
square kilometer in comparison ukraine which is currently being ravaged by russia has an average
people per square kilometer ratio of 2690. china certainly has enough firepower to take out the
entire population of taiwan within a few days or weeks but traveling 177 kilometers through
the taiwan strait to invade the country would be a long and dangerous journey especially now
that the united states and japan have agreed to set up a joint base across several islands along
the taiwan straits the traveling chinese vessels will literally be sitting ducks waiting to be sunk
also taiwan has been preparing for a potential invasion by producing and stockpiling
surface-to-ship missiles in preparation for a face-off between itself and china
not to mention that the japanese ruling party announced the proposal to increase its defense
budget from one to two percent in line with other nato members a potential face-off in the skies
could end in a massacre in favor of china but the result would definitely be different if the
united states intervened on behalf of taiwan given the complex logistical hurdles that need
to be surmounted experts believe that china would need to deploy approximately 1.2 million soldiers
to conquer taiwan that's about 60 percent of its entire military capacity not sure that will be the
right thing to do for a country that hasn't fought in a land war since 1979. furthermore the russian
ukraine crisis has shown us that no opposition is too small to be written off regardless of the huge
gap between both countries taiwan would fancy its chances against china and with the united states
and japan policing the taiwan strait the task at hand certainly becomes much easier do you think
it's morally right for japan to offer its islands to the u.s in a bid to stop china let us know what
you think in the comments section down below be sure to check out this next video over here