Japan unwise to join US' Taiwan-card games: China Daily editorial

It is no secret that the United States wants to bind Japan more tightly to its war bandwagon, as evidenced by the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024, which was passed by the US Senate at the end of last month. It requires the US secretary of defense to devise a plan for enhancing US security cooperation with Japan.

It is based on this provision that the US government has begun discussions with Japan as the latter moves to set up its first Permanent Joint Operational Headquarters for Japan Self-Defense Forces, according to Japanese media reports over the weekend, quoting people familiar with the matter. The new headquarters, which is expected to be functional by March 2025, would oversee operations of all three branches of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

The long-standing so-called sword and shield relationship between the US and Japan — in which the US with its strike capabilities is the spear and Japan is the sanctuary-providing shield — is deemed to be outdated. With Japan acquiring long-range strike capabilities such as Tomahawk cruise missiles, and indicating that it is willing to get involved in military operations, the US wants to establish joint command elements in Japan to make the alliance more deeply integrated and operationally effective. The US military is therefore reportedly proposing to modify its own command structure in Japan to better coordinate with the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

For years rightist politicians in Japan have pushed hard for the revision of the country's pacifist Constitution, especially changes to the war-renouncing Article 9, in an attempt to make Japan a "normal nation" with a full-fledged military. To justify the drastic policy change that has met with wide public opposition, Tokyo has cited external security threats using Beijing's reunification cause with Taiwan island as an easy excuse. The provocative claim "an emergency for Taiwan is also an emergency for Japan" underscores a remarkable shift in Japan's stance on the most contentious issue.

Japan's policy has become increasingly aggressive. It has announced plans to raise its defense spending to 2 percent of its gross domestic product in five years, a dramatic increase for a nation that has adopted a defense-only stance since the end of World War II. Moreover, the armed forces of the US and Japan have already worked out draft plans for a joint operation in case of a possible war involving Taiwan. The latest discussions are just another fine-tuning of their collaborative efforts aimed at compromising the reunification of the Chinese nation for their own respective agenda.

The Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Japanese politicians are putting their own country's security at stake speculating on Washington's playing of the "Taiwan card".