China and Japan, increasingly distant on commercial, economic, technological and value issues, are seeking dialogue at least in the military field. The defense ministers of the two countries have decided to open a new direct line of communication between the leaders of their respective armed forces. The goal is to avoid a degeneration of tensions in the South China Sea.
Japanese minister Nobuo Kishi stressed after a video conference with Chinese counterpart Wei Fanghe, that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are “vital to the security of Japan” and expressed “grave concern” over the relentless activity of the Chinese Coast Guard in the waters off an atoll in the Japan-controlled East China Sea. and claimed by China – part of the Senkaku Islands for Tokyo, Diaoyu for Beijing.
“Beijing will firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights,” said the Chinese minister, recognizing however the need to ease tensions between the parties by promoting dialogue and cooperation between the respective air and naval forces. This intention was shared by Kishi, who declared Tokyo’s readiness to intensify cooperation in the name of stability between the two countries.
A few days ago the Japanese Kyodo news agency revealed, citing Tokyo government sources, that the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the United States Armed Forces are working on a draft joint operational plan in the event of a military crisis in the Strait of Taiwan. The agreement provides for the rapid deployment by the United States Marines of an advanced base for the projection of the force in the island chain of Nansei, in the extreme south of Japan and approximately 850 kilometers from Taiwan. The plan would risk exposing the islands to a military attack from China and would require changes to the regulatory framework currently in force in the country. Japan and the United States could agree to start the works for the formalization of the operational plan at the beginning of January,
Many Japanese political leaders have recently spoken out in support of Taiwan. Among them, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso . Both defined a possible Chinese invasion of the island as a direct threat to Japan and stressed the support that would come from the United States. At the same time, the constitutional constraints on military activities are disappearing.
In this context, the Japanese government has “recognized” the independence of the island of Taiwan which in the new defense white paper, published in July, is no longer colored as part of China. As we noted on Formiche.net, this is an evolution in Tokyo’s strategic thinking that identifies the crisis along the Strait and the risk of a clash between China and the United States as a potential element of destabilization of national security. “Stabilizing the situation around Taiwan is important for the security of Japan and the stability of the international community”, reads the report, which takes up the joint statements made by former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Bidenin April and the position formally taken by Japan on the occasion of the last diplomatic dialogues with the European Union and with the G7 with the commitment to promote a “free and open” Indo-Pacific.
Only a few days to go until the beginning of the year that will mark half a century of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, and the situation is complicated. The Chinese government is annoyed by the increasingly frequent criticism of the new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida . “Even if there is a window of opportunity to improve relations, the foundations of the relationship are still very fragile,” a person familiar with the talks between Kishi and Wei told the Financial Times.
(In the photo the USS Roosevelt in the Indo-Pacific, Twitter @IndoPaCom)
