The lack of a mechanism to facilitate direct security dialogue between Taiwan, Japan and the US is a major concern, the president of a Taiwanese think tank said on Sunday at the conclusion of a two-day tabletop war games event held in Japan.
The event was the first unofficial collaborative effort of its kind between the three countries since the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies first organized the exercise in August 2021.
The simulation focused on an attack and blockade of Taiwan by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, and on the battlefield management and collaborative defense mechanisms that would be put in place should a conflict break out in the Taiwan Strait.
After participating in this year’s event, Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) of the Taipei-based Prospect Foundation told the Central News Agency that a security mechanism for communications between Taiwan and Japan was currently “almost nonexistent.”
Citing Saturday’s tabletop war games as an example, Lai said events such as simulated humanitarian evacuation efforts were carried out in more of an ad hoc manner, which resulted in many problems and difficulties.
He highlighted President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) call in 2019 that direct high-level security talks between Taiwan and Japan were crucial.
Through the tabletop simulation, Lai said he also learned how the Japanese government took many different matters into consideration when making decisions, which is contrary to the perception among some Taiwanese officials that Taipei would simply follow the US’ directions.
During the simulation, the Taiwan side was led by Lai, with Taiwanese observers including Institute for National Defense and Security Research chairman Huoh Shoou-yeh (霍守業), deputy CEO Lee Ting-sheng (李廷盛) and Defense Strategy and Resources Division director Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲).
Asked about establishing a security dialogue mechanism between Taiwan, Japan and the US, Japanese Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Kihara Minoru told a news conference that Japan and the US have an alliance, the biggest problem is the lack of a formal relationship between Japan and Taiwan.
Minoru, who acted as Japanese defense minister during the two-day tabletop war games, said various exchanges had still been carried out through the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council, although at an unofficial capacity due to the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
It is important for Japan, the US and Taiwan to formulate a security dialogue mechanism, he said, adding that everyone involved would seek an appropriate time to address the issue.
The US side was represented by Kevin Maher, the former head of the Office of Japan Affairs at the US Department of State, who acted as the country’s president during the war game simulation.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS