JAPAN, US ‘COULD NOT STAND BY’ IF TAIWAN IS ATTACKED

TAIPEI—Japan and the United States could not stand by if China attacked Taiwan, and Beijing needs to understand this, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday.

Tensions over Chinese-claimed Taiwan have risen as President Xi Jinping seeks to assert his country’s sovereignty claims against the democratically ruled island. Taiwan’s government says it wants peace, but will defend itself if needed.

Speaking virtually to a forum organized by Taiwanese think tank the Institute for National Policy Research, Abe noted the Senkaku islands—which China calls the Diaoyu Islands— Sakishima islands and Yonaguni island are a mere 100 kilometers or so away from Taiwan.

An armed invasion of Taiwan would be a grave danger to Japan, he added.

“A Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency, and therefore an emergency for the Japan-US alliance. People in Beijing, President Xi in particular, should never have a misunderstanding in recognizing this,” Abe said.

Bound by law

Japan is host to major US military bases, including on the southern island of Okinawa, a short flight from Taiwan, which would be crucial for any US support during a Chinese attack.

The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, though there is ambiguity about whether it would send forces to help Taiwan in a war with China.

The United States and its allies would take unspecified “action” if China were to use force to alter the status quo over Taiwan, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said.