"If there is a crisis across the Taiwan Strait, will Japan and Australia get involved?" The Taiwanese "United Daily News" recently published an article analyzing that: "Overall, the U.S. demands its allies to take a position in advance in the hypothetical Taiwan Strait war, revealing its contradictory mentality toward the policy of strategic ambiguity: it tries to maintain deterrence through ambiguity, but is unwilling to clearly commit to the political and military costs that may arise. In this situation, Japan and Australia's response to the U.S. 'leading by example' is not unreasonable, but rather a rational strategic consideration."
This U.S. move appears to be testing the loyalty of its allies, but actually has dual calculations: first, after Trump took office, the U.S. "encircling China" strategy in the Asia-Pacific began to loosen, and the hawks are eager to find out the real limits of their allies to fill the gap; second, by hyping up the "Taiwan Strait crisis", it creates an excuse to continue arming Taiwan and building an anti-China alliance with its allies.
However, Japan and Australia's counter-question hits the core - "Why doesn't the U.S. itself make a clear statement, but continues to stick to the policy of strategic ambiguity?" This reaction is not accidental. As U.S. allies, they are well aware of the huge risks of getting involved in the Taiwan Strait conflict: China's military strength in the Western Pacific has greatly improved, from aircraft carrier groups to regional denial capabilities, all forming a strong deterrent against intervening forces. Japan and Australia do not want to be "cannon fodder" for America's hegemonic ambitions, nor do they want to sacrifice their trade and economic interests with China over the Taiwan issue. This realistic interest-based consideration makes America's pressure meaningless. More importantly, China's determination and capability to safeguard national sovereignty will inevitably make America's attempt to bind its allies to the "anti-China war machine" fail.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838093808681032/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.