Japan warns of Taiwan crisis, risks of US-China rivalry on growing Reuters

By Tim Kelly

TOKYO (Reuters) – Rising military tensions over Taiwan and economic and technological rivalry between China and the United States threaten peace and stability in East Asia as the regional balance of power shifts to Beijing, Japan said in its annual defense white paper.

“It is necessary to pay special attention to the situation with the feeling of crisis more than ever,” the paper says in a new section on Taiwan. “Especially the competition in technology areas will be even more intense,” he said of the US-China struggle.

A defense study approved by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday has indicated that China is a major concern for Japanese national security. In the latest period of Beijing’s military activity around Taiwan, Tokyo has been concerned that the island is near the Okinawa range west of the Japanese archipelago.

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged this month to form a “reunion” with Taiwan and in June criticized the United States for being a “creative danger” after sending a warship from the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from the mainland.

Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso said in a statement to the Japanese media this month that Japan should join forces with the United States to defend Taiwan from any invasion. Aso later, he said any incident related to Taiwan should be resolved through dialogue, when asked about the remarks that led to the rebuke from Beijing.

As the military competition between the United States and China deepens, their economic competition is driving a race for leadership in key technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.

The emergence of technology rival camps poses a challenge for Japan, as its economy is based on business ties with China as much as with the United States. Japan will also incur high spending to continue with government funding for technology development in the United States, China and Europe.

U.S. lawmakers recently passed the 2021 Innovation and Competition Act, which authorizes $ 190 billion in technology spending to increase $ 54 billion in chip production. Members of the House of Representatives are debating an extraordinary proposal that also promises generous funding, the “Assuring American Global Leadership and Engagement Act,” or the EAGLE Act.

Japan’s annual security study also includes a section on the threats posed by climate change for the first time, which says it will increase competition for land and resources and may affect the mass movement of climate refugees. Increasing disasters associated with global warming could also extend military capabilities, he added, as the melting of Arctic sea ice could lead to the militarization of northern waters.