Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s attempts to reinterpret Japan’s pacifist constitution and lift the ban on the right of collective self-defense could start an arms race, a Taiwanese academic warned on Saturday.
Association of International Relations president Philip Yang (楊永明) said lifting the ban would be tantamount to forming a new Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the US and Japan, turning the unilateral military alliance into a bilateral one.
Tokyo can now only provide limited logistics and base assistance, but it could soon be able to engage in military intervention under the name of collective self-defense, he said at a forum sponsored by the association.
That means Tokyo could intercede if other countries come under attack, “very probably in the South China Sea,” or in its disputed waters if it considers the security of allied countries will affect Japan, especially in terms of maritime safety.
Tunghai University assistant professor Chen Yung-feng (陳永峰) said at the forum that there is already a hint of violent conflict brewing in East Asia, comparing the current situation to the conditions before the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894 and 1895.
Ho Szu-shen (何思慎), director of Fu Jen Catholic University’s Center for Japan Studies, said that Abe’s attempts to change his nation’s constitution have been given tacit approval by Washington.
Yang cautioned that Taiwan will not necessarily benefit from an armed Japan because the Japanese Cabinet’s resolution states that its armed forces can respond if the country is under attack or “countries” with close relations to Tokyo are under attack.
Since the Japanese government does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country, then the revised constitution would not put Tokyo under any obligation to help Taipei in a defensive situation.
Ho urged the public to support building a powerful navy so the nation can help ensure its defense capabilities.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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