Taiwan and Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding to share information on foreign nationals entering Japan via Taiwan to prepare for evacuation operations in the event of a possible invasion and control for potential espionage, Japanese media outlet Yomiuri Shimbun reported today.
The agreement is to ensure that in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Japanese, Taiwanese and other foreign nationals would be able to evacuate safely, while criminals and spies would be barred from infiltrating evacuation flows and carrying out sabotage, the report said.
The agreement, based on the idea that a “Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency,” is a rare step forward in cooperation between the two countries, the report cited Japanese officials as saying.
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Japan’s Immigration Services Agency has previously signed memorandums of understanding with countries such as Australia and New Zealand regarding overstayers, but this latest agreement is unusual, as it anticipates the evacuation of Japanese during a “Taiwan contingency,” the report said.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association signed the agreement on Dec. 18 last year with Japan’s de facto embassy in Taiwan, the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, it said.
Japan severed official diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1972 after normalizing relations with China, so the memorandum was signed between representative offices on both sides and did not directly involve government ministries, the report said.
Details of the agreement would not be made public, the exchange association said.
Under the agreement, Japanese authorities would receive information on foreign nationals entering Japan from Taiwan, allowing stricter border checks in the event of a “Taiwan contingency,” the report cited officials as saying.
In peacetime, background checks would still be conducted for passengers leaving Taiwanese airports for Japan, they added.
According to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from Jan. 1 to October last year, about 21,700 Japanese were living in Taiwan.
In the event of a Taiwan invasion, it is expected that there would be a large-scale evacuation of Japanese from Taiwan, while large numbers of Taiwanese and other foreign nationals may also seek refuge in Japan, the report said.
Japanese authorities are concerned that foreign spies may take advantage of the chaos, particularly Chinese spies who may attempt to blend in with Taiwanese entering Japan, an official was quoted as saying.
Japan hopes that the memorandum would strengthen bilateral cooperation on evacuation operations, while also working with the US and other allies to prepare for a possible Taiwan contingency, the report said.
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