Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe told a conference on regional security in Taipei yesterday that the March 11 earthquake and tsunami marked a “turning point” in the US-Japanese alliance and warned that if both countries did not find ways to resolve their financial difficulties, they would have no choice but to cut their defense budgets.
In a keynote speech at the International Symposium on Regional Security of the Asia-Pacific and Peace in the Taiwan Strait, Abe said the damage from the tsunami was comparable to that caused by war.
The symposium was organized by the Taiwan National Security Institute and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
Photo: CNA
While the financial crisis in the US has already forced Washington to cut defense spending, Japan, which is also facing financial problems in the wake of the disaster in March, could also be compelled to do so and that would have a negative impact on troop morale and Japan’s ability to modernize its armed forces, Abe said, referring to such a scenario as a “national security crisis.”
Those developments coincided with the rapid buildup of the Chinese military, Abe said, adding that the past 20 years of modernization had resulted in Beijing’s increased ability to project its power, especially at sea.
Building on this new ability, Beijing has conflated a “strategic frontier theory” with its claims to an exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, which stems from what Abe, who was prime minister from September 2006 to September 2007, called “dangerous logic.”
A paper delivered for the occasion and written by former Japanese vice minister of defense Akihisa Nagashima, who could not attend the symposium as he has just been appointed special adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda for foreign and defense matters, said China’s efforts to enhance its combat capabilities along its coastal waters have become a “real threat.”
Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is scheduled to visit Japan next month, said at the conference that Taiwan’s ability to handle regional problems was contingent on the strength of the US-Japan alliance, which remained key to regional order.
Despite the warming ties across the Taiwan Strait, the situation remains “filled with uncertainties,” Tsai said, adding that China’s latest military white paper, released in March, made it clear that the main task of the People’s Liberation Army remained opposing Taiwanese independence and facilitating unification.
She said relations with China should be based on reciprocity and only when China has democratized could the two sides approach dialogue in a unitary fashion.
Unfortunately, she said, dialogue between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party has so far avoided discussing democracy.
In the afternoon session, Steve Yates, who served as deputy assistant to former US vice president Dick Cheney on national security affairs, said the pressing question now was how a Washington weighed down by fiscal constraints would deal with an “emboldened, non-democratic China” whose “peaceful rise” was far from assured.
“China has turned the request for a cooperative partnership into an attempt to influence US policies and gradually displace the United States in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Yates, an expert on Asia.
Yates said the situation called for the US to strengthen mutual defense commitments and greater collective capability, adding that to this end, the US should lift restrictions on some transfers of technology to allies such as Taiwan and Japan to create a “multipolar deterrent” against China.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old