Japan is set to institutionalize coast guard training with neighboring Taiwan amid simmering territorial tensions with China, which has stepped up its presence in disputed waters.
Why It Matters
The move by Japan, a U.S. defense treaty ally, and Taiwan, a U.S. security partner and major purchaser of American weapons, is likely to rile China, which strongly opposes official exchanges between other countries and Taiwan, viewing the island as its territory.
Increasing Chinese coast guard activity near Taiwan-administered features has added to friction across the Taiwan Strait. Meanwhile, an uptick in Chinese patrols near the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands is seen in Tokyo as a growing national security concern.
Newsweek reached out to China’s Ministry of National Defense via email with request for comment outside office hours.
What To Know
In June, the Japanese and Taiwanese coast guards conducted a joint exercise off the Sakishima Islands in Japan’s southwestern Okinawa Prefecture, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the proceedings.
The simulated search-and-rescue operation was only the second drill since Tokyo severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing in 1972. Unlike the first exercise, held in July last year, Taiwan’s 413-foot patrol ship the Yunlin and Japan’s 134-foot, helicopter-equipped patrol vessel the Mizhuo approached each other closely enough to be within visual range, the report said.
The drill marked a further step toward normalized maritime cooperation. The two sides are reportedly considering expansion of the program to include “allied and like-minded nations,” the report said. Officials from both coast guards have also held regular exchanges in recent years to discuss ways of strengthening maritime coordination.
What People Are Saying
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters in May: “[The Diaoyu] islands have always been China’s territory.”
Japan’s foreign ministry states on its website: “There is no doubt that the Senkaku Islands are clearly an inherent part of the territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based upon international law.”
Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said in an October 3 statement on Chinese activity near Pratas Island: “In recent years, Chinese government vessels have frequently carried out provocative and infringing activities against neighboring countries in the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region, affecting regional security and stability.”
What’s Next
Japan on Saturday elected Sanae Takaichi, a nationalist member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as prime minister. Security cooperation with Taiwan is expected to continue improving under her government, while relations with China may grow more strained.
The uninhabited islets became a focal point of tensions between China and Japan after Tokyo nationalized the chain in 2012. In response to continued patrols by China’s more heavily armed coast guard vessels, Japan aims to build two new large patrol ships and acquire four U.S.-made MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones to boost maritime surveillance, local media reported in August.
Taiwan has pledged to keep challenging Chinese incursions into what it considers restricted waters around the features it controls, including Pratas Island and the outlying island county of Kinmen.
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