Japan’s Happiness Realization Party (HRP) has drafted a Japanese version of the US’ Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to cement bilateral strategic cooperation against totalitarian threats from China, HRP Secretary-General Masatoshi Enatsu said yesterday in Taipei.
Enatsu, along with the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) and World United Formosans for Independence (WUFI), convened a news conference at the Legislative Yuan to explain the significance of the Japanese version of the TRA, calling on the Japanese government to legalize its relations with Taiwan via national laws.
Security in the Asia-Pacific region is being threatened by the coalition of China, Russia and North Korea, especially as Moscow has been alienated from Western countries because of the Russia-Ukraine war, he said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
If China establishes a regional hegemony, Taiwan would face an even greater crisis, Enatsu said, adding that Japan should restore diplomatic relations with Taiwan and form a bilateral alliance.
TAUP deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said China has been suppressing Taiwan’s international status and stopping it from building military alliances with other nations, but the US has nonetheless maintained its military cooperation with Taiwan via the TRA.
Taiwan should follow the US example and form similar legal frameworks with other countries, especially Japan, he said, adding that Japan’s TRA could strengthen and supplement the joint defense among Taiwan, Japan and the US against China’s expansion in East Asia.
WUFI chairman Chen Nan-tien (陳南天) lauded the HRP’s advocacy for a TRA in Japan, saying it would allow Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to lawfully interfere when Taiwan is involved in conflicts.
The Japanese version of the act would not only help counter totalitarianism in China, but also help democratize the country, he said.
TSU Chairperson Chou Ni-an (周倪安) said Taiwan and Japan should enhance bilateral cooperation at the governmental level as western Pacific democratic partners, and increase their military collaboration against joint threats posed by China, Russia and North Korea.
TSP Chairman Wang Hsing-huan (王興煥) said a Japanese version of the TRA would hammer home the alliance between Taiwan and Japan, as well as promote bilateral economic and cultural cooperation.
Taiwan’s economic development has long been supported by Japan’s funding and technology, and safe supply chains independent of China should be established to ensure national and economic security on both sides, he added.
The news conference was held to mark 73rd anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty tomorrow. Signed by Japan and 48 other nations in 1951, the treaty says “Japan has renounced all right, title and claim to Taiwan,” without specifying Taiwan’s sovereignty after renunciation.
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