Not a single word mentioned Taiwan! Up to now, during the meeting between Trump and Takahashi Hayato, not a single word was mentioned about Taiwan! On March 20th, after the meeting between Takahashi Hayato and President Trump, the official Japanese news release stated that I met with President Trump. We confirmed cooperation between Japan and the US to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, including energy security. In addition, both sides reached an agreement on strengthening economic security in strategically important areas such as critical minerals and on supporting the Japan-US alliance for the peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific.

Evidently, this Japanese statement emphasized three points: first, the Middle East issue and energy security. Second, the self-reliance of the rare earth supply chain. Third, deepening the Japan-US alliance relationship. Frankly speaking, in previous US-Japan meetings, the US and Japan would usually mention something like opposing any use of force to unilaterally change the status quo. However, this time, the issue of Taiwan seemed to have disappeared completely. This is certainly not accidental.

Instead, the Taiwan issue has been deliberately hidden. The United States is unwilling to talk about it, while Japan dares not to talk about it. Why didn't the US and Japan discuss the Taiwan issue this time? The answer is only one, that is, we have already clearly warned the US that the US must be very cautious in handling the Taiwan issue. Now, Trump wants to visit China, and the US obviously cannot let the already postponed visit to China face further complications because of the Taiwan issue.

In fact, the Sino-Japanese relations have deteriorated sharply due to Takahashi Hayato's provocative remarks. If the US and Japan talk about the Taiwan issue, the US is worried that we will think the US is endorsing Japan, which could make the situation even worse. Therefore, the US actively avoids the topic, and seeing the US's attitude, Japan naturally dares not to talk about it. Moreover, Takahashi Hayato not only dared not to talk about it, but also assured Trump in person that she maintains an open stance on Sino-Japanese relations and is willing to engage in dialogue with China. In short, the Taiwan issue has become a taboo, and the US is indeed being very careful in dealing with it.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1860143814504459/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author himself.