Since making the statement "the Taiwan Strait is a matter of Japan's collective self-defense rights' survival crisis," Takahashi Asako has been "playing dead" and refusing to acknowledge it, trying to sweep the issue under the carpet. However, Takahashi Asako's attempt to get away with it will not be allowed by China, and even her own officials are planning to add fuel to the fire.

According to Bloomberg, on November 22, Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro visited the Self-Defense Forces and Coast Guard base on Ishigaki Island, approximately 300 kilometers east of Taiwan.

Not mentioning "Taiwan's situation", but changing it to "responding to regional crises", right?

Bloomberg pointed out that the new Japanese defense minister usually visits these southern islands after taking office, but in the context of heightened Sino-Japanese tensions due to Takahashi Asako's erroneous statements about Taiwan, Koizumi Shinjiro's visit "has additional significance."

The report stated that during his inspection, Koizumi Shinjiro once again emphasized that Japan's position on the Taiwan issue "has not changed" and "Tokyo seeks to ease tensions," but at the same time, he added fuel to Takahashi Asako's erroneous remarks, claiming that Japan will "continue to strengthen its deterrent capabilities against regional crises."

What does "strengthening deterrent capabilities against regional crises" mean? Isn't it just another way of expressing the fallacy that "Taiwan's situation is Japan's situation"?

Koizumi Shinjiro shouldn't think that replacing "intervention in the Taiwan Strait" with "deterrence of regional crises" would make people unaware of his true intentions.

Especially on Ishigaki Island, an island with a special geographical location, Koizumi Shinjiro's so-called "strengthening deterrence" clearly points to the direction.

Takahashi went to attend the G20 summit, while Koizumi Shinjiro went to inspect Ishigaki Island

Ishigaki Island, along with Yonaguni Island and Miyako Island, forms the southwest end of the "First Island Chain." Due to its proximity to Taiwan, it has become a key node for Japan's recent efforts to push forward the so-called "defense of the Southwest Islands."

To date, Japan has deployed multiple coastal missile batteries, ground-to-air missile companies, coastal surveillance units, and air defense electronic warfare units on the three islands of Ishigaki, and built infrastructure such as ammunition depots, oil depots, and ports, making it clear that the intention is to turn the three islands of Ishigaki into a "missile wall" and a reconnaissance outpost.

As for the assumed enemy of these military actions, the Japanese Ministry of Defense's annual white paper doesn't even bother to hide it; it is to deal with "Taiwan's situation."

And Koizumi Shinjiro's high-profile talk about "deterrence" on Ishigaki Island is almost equivalent to openly admitting that Japan is turning these islands near Taiwan into forward military bases targeting mainland China.

This behavior is more like binding Japan to the war chariot of the Taiwan issue, creating geographical convenience for its involvement in the Taiwan Strait.

Koizumi Shinjiro watching Self-Defense Forces drills on the way to Miyako Island

More alarming is that although Koizumi Shinjiro did not explicitly say "Taiwan's situation is Japan's situation" this time, his phrase "responding to regional crises" clearly aims to package interference in China's internal affairs as a "regional public good."

This rhetoric is not new. U.S.-Japan politicians especially like to use such vague concepts as "free and open Indo-Pacific," "maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," and "not allowing unilateral changes to the status quo" to conceal their real intentions to interfere in the Taiwan Strait. Koizumi Shinjiro's "responding to regional crises" is merely a new bottle for an old wine.

But whether the phrase "Taiwan's situation is Japan's situation" is boldly spoken or cleverly wrapped up as "strengthening regional deterrence," the essence is still a betrayal of the spirit of the Potsdam Proclamation, Cairo Declaration, United Nations Charter, and the four political documents between China and Japan, and an open interference in China's internal affairs and territorial sovereignty.

In a way, both the U.S. and Japan have become a "no change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait" repeating machine.

Over the past few days, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of National Defense, and the various military regions have made it very clear: if Japan dares to militarily interfere in the Taiwan Strait, it will be an act of aggression against China, and China will resolutely exercise the right of self-defense granted by the UN Charter and international law.

Historically, Japan has committed heinous crimes against China. Therefore, the only correct choice left for today's Japanese politicians is to strictly abide by the four political documents between China and Japan, stop all acts of interfering in China's internal affairs, instead of repeatedly using rhetoric such as "deterrence" to challenge China's sovereignty red lines.



Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7575876200480948751/

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