Biden and Kan hold a joint press conference at the White House on April 16.
The U.S. and Japanese heads issued a joint statement after their recent summit, emphasizing the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and reaffirming that the U.S. and Japan are working together to address the challenges of the Chinese Communist Party. In response, a Taiwan scholar said on the 19th that it was Beijing that contributed to the deepening of U.S.-Japan security cooperation and the shift from strategic ambiguity to clarity in U.S. policy toward Taiwan.
Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met face-to-face at the White House on the 16th. It was Biden’s first interaction with a foreign leader since he took office. As the Biden administration will continue to invest significant efforts in the Indo-Pacific region, topics related to countering the Chinese Communist threat were the subject of in-depth U.S.-Japanese discussions that day, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, human rights, and 5G construction.
The two issued a joint statement after the meeting, stressing, in particular, the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and urging a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues. This is the first time since 52 years that the U.S. and Japanese leaders have mentioned Taiwan in a joint statement.
In this regard, Taiwan’s National Defense Security Research Institute scholar Su Ziyun pointed out in the “U.S.-Japan summit and Taiwan Strait something” symposium on the 19th, the U.S.-Japan joint statement clearly mentioned the importance of Taiwan Strait security, can be seen as the previous Taiwan Strait policy of “strategic ambiguity” changed to This can be seen as a change from “strategic ambiguity” to “constructive clarity” in Taiwan Strait policy.
According to Su Ziyun, the main purpose of the U.S. and Japan to mention security in the Taiwan Strait is to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s forceful change of the status quo, but indirectly presented in the diplomatic language of “peace and security in the Taiwan Strait is important,” the strategic level expresses that security in the Taiwan Strait is a policy guideline of the U.S.-Japan consensus.
He said that this shows that it is Beijing that has contributed to the deepening of U.S.-Japan security cooperation, and has also shifted Washington’s Taiwan Strait policy from strategic ambiguity to clarity, and that it is the greatest tragedy that strategic goals and means are at odds with each other, and that the Chinese Communist Party is falling into such a self-imposed dilemma.
After the US-Japan summit, the US-South Korea summit will follow in May. Su Ziyun expects that the U.S.-based anti-communist alliance will gradually assemble to form a composite military, diplomatic, technological and even economic siege. Taiwan is bound to be assisted by all parties, and it also occupies a key geopolitical position in the Indo-Pacific strategy. At this time of strategic opportunity, the government upholds the strategic principle of “not giving in to pressure and not advancing when supported”.
Taiwan think tank advisory member Lai Yi-chung also said at the symposium that the U.S.-Japan summit statement, in addition to talking about Taiwan, covers far more than the joint statement of the U.S.-Japan security consultation (2 plus 2 meeting) a month ago, and is no longer just a continuation of the “U.S.-Japan 2 plus 2 meeting” or a reconfirmation of its claims.
According to Lai, the importance of the U.S.-Japan summit statement, in terms of content, should be similar to the “U.S.-Japan Alliance Re-Globalization” or the “U.S.-Japan Alliance Globalization 2.0” cooperation agenda. Taiwan’s inclusion in the joint statement of the U.S.-Japan summit is definitely an important event.
Su Ziyun told New Tang Dynasty that the Clinton administration and the West were optimistic about the rise of the Chinese Communist Party in 1997, and even said in the defense report that they would assist China in its economic development. It was not until 20 years later, in 2017, that the Trump administration changed its policy toward the Chinese Communist Party after examining what it had done.
For Taiwan, the U.S.-Japan summit is a milestone because it puts Taiwan’s security inside the allies’ statement, Su said. It is a symbol that other parts of the United States’ subsequent security cooperation with allies will put Taiwan factors into a key position. That is, to prevent the possibility of military adventures by the Chinese Communist Party.
Taiwan’s geographic location is very important to the security of the United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. The U.S. Department of Defense has always viewed Taiwan as the central point of the first island chain, and Taiwan as the most effective area for defense against Chinese Communist forces. U.S. Army General MacArthur hailed Taiwan as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” during World War II and the Korean War.
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