U.S. President Joe Biden greeted Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, his first foreign leader since taking office, at the White House, and later issued a U.S.-Japan joint statement that included the Taiwan issue, which is said to be the first time Japan has included the Taiwan issue in a joint U.S.-Japan document in half a century, since the joint U.S.-Japan leadership talks in 1969 and the establishment of diplomatic relations with China in 1972. Taiwan.
Since the 2+2 talks between the U.S. and Japan on the eve of the U.S.-China dialogue in Alaska, Japan’s attitude toward China has become openly assertive, and the joint statement issued after the White House meeting states that “Japan and the United States emphasize the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait while promoting the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues”. In fact, the first half of the statement already appeared in the 2+2 joint statement, but this time it added “promoting the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.
At the same time that Japanese Prime Minister Kan and Biden issued the joint statement, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi again mentioned Taiwan during his visit to the island of Jusei on the 17th. He said that it is important for Taiwan to be stable. In this regard, the Japanese media interpreted that on the day of the joint statement of Japan and the United States, Taiwan is jointly stated, Kishi Nobuo’s visit rather emphasizes the presence of the Self-Defense Forces and intends to hold China’s taste. Moreover, Nobuo Kishi put Taiwan’s stability to such a high level: “For Japan’s security or for a more stable international community, Taiwan’s stability is important.”
The Japanese authorities have recently changed their cautious attitude toward China, taking a harsh public criticism of China’s human rights issues and expansion in the South China Sea and East China Sea, and taking a clear position on the Taiwan issue. This joint statement by Japan and the United States shows that Kan has made up his mind to state Japan’s position on the Taiwan issue. The Japanese side was prepared for the Chinese backlash. The Central News Agency quoted a Japanese Foreign Ministry official as saying that the joint statement of the U.S.-Japan leaders’ talks was bound to draw a backlash from China, but it would be tricky to follow in any case, and the Japanese government or the Self-Defense Forces would have to review how to act in the event of a development in Taiwan.
This actually means that in the situation where China is pressing Taiwan step by step, Japan must be prepared for the day when it must respond to emergencies, and Japan’s allies, the United States, have always wanted Japan to do so, and it is hard to imagine that Japan will stay out of it.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry immediately retorted on the 17th, saying that “Taiwan and the Diaoyu Islands are Chinese territory. Hong Kong-related and border-related matters are purely internal affairs of China …… U.S.-Japan joint statement brutal interference in China’s internal affairs … China is strongly dissatisfied with this, firmly opposed.” The Chinese Embassy in Japan accused the U.S.-Japanese joint statement of “infringing on China’s territorial sovereignty” and has lodged serious representations. The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. denounced the U.S.-Japanese joint statement as completely beyond the scope of normal development of bilateral relations and damaging to the interests of third parties, among other things.
According to Jie Dalei, an associate professor at the Beijing Institute of International Relations, Sino-Japanese relations had gradually improved in recent years, but the March 2+2 meeting between the U.S. and Japanese foreign ministers and defense ministers touched on issues such as the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, which had already made China unhappy. Now, Japan has announced that it will discharge Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the sea, the U.S.-Japan summit is more focused on dealing with China, and the joint statement is even the first mention of Taiwan in 52 years, which is bound to make Beijing unhappy. He concluded that “Sino-Japanese relations feel to be on a deteriorating course.”
Guo Yuren, a professor at the Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Regional Studies at Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, argued that the U.S.-Japan joint statement is a hard document with mandatory force, which means that the U.S. and Japan have expanded the scope of security protection to the Taiwan Strait. He believes that this statement will bring Beijing considerable stimulation, plus China has the inertia to punish the weak, is bound to offer a fierce response to Taiwan, Taiwan needs to tense nerves.
In short, the U.S.-Japanese joint statement shows a strong hold on China, not only after half a century in the joint document contains Taiwan, but also reiterates the serious concerns about human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang Uighur. The two sides made clear their unwavering commitment to promoting a “free and open Indo-Pacific region” while firmly opposing any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the South and East China Seas.
Kan later said in a speech at the Center for International Strategic Studies, a U.S. think tank, that Japan would not budge on matters related to sovereignty, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and other universal values. Regarding the human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Hong Kong, Japan will speak out and will work with the international community to demand concrete action for improvement from China.
In his speech, Suga repeatedly referred to the Biden administration’s “values-based diplomacy” that focuses on democracy. He said, “Democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law are the common values that bind our alliance.”
Although Tokyo remains cautious on certain China-related issues, such as the persecution of Uighurs, Japan has not yet joined the U.S.-led sanctions against China. But Michael J. Green, who served as an adviser to the Bush administration on Asia-Pacific affairs, argues that the tone of Japan’s public statements is a little different, but generally consistent with the general U.S. direction.
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