CIGA PUBLICATIONS / GEOPOLITICAL COMPASS

U.S.-Japan: Reinforcing Taiwan’s Security?

East Asia

Publication Dossier

GEOPOLITICAL COMPASS
Author(s)
Jagannath Panda 
Publishers
Japan Forward
Date / Place
June 21, 2021/ Japan
Type of Literature
Analysis
Word Count / Number of Pages
1622
Keywords
Taiwan Strait, US-Japan, China

The Brief

China's increasing military exercises in the Taiwan Strait and Xi Jinping’s rhetoric to unite Taiwan with the mainland have caused the region to become a focal point. The Biden administration is increasing its alliances to ensure stability and peace, especially by making security agreements with its democratic partners in the region. Japan is an important alliance, especially for America, to reduce China's power in the region. The security alliance that Japan and America signed due to China's escalating military exercises in the Taiwan Strait was also welcomed by the Taipei government. At the same time, Japan added the Taiwan issue to its latest defense report, as it thought that a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan would change the balance of power in the region. On the other hand, while the United States supplies Taiwan with military equipment, Japan is acting cautiously. At the last G7 summit, with the support of the United States and Japan, the Taiwan issue was on the agenda along with Taiwan's possible inclusion in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and signing a MoU to move medical supply chains away from China. Although it attracts a reaction, it can strain relations. As a result, Taiwan has an important place to prevent the rise of China for the United States, and on the other hand, the Taiwan issue is important for Japan to maintain the balance of power in the region.