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Updated August 3rd, 2022 at 14:22 IST

Japan flags concern over China's huge military exercises near Taiwan during Pelosi's visit

While US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been visiting Taiwan on Wednesday, Japan voiced alarm over Chinese military action around the region

Reported by: Anwesha Majumdar
Japan
Image: AP | Image:self
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As US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has escalated already sour tensions between Washington and Beijing, Japan voiced alarm over Chinese military action around the region. Amid the rising tension between China and Taiwan, Tokyo urged for a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issues in response to Chinese military activities near the self-governing island. The top spokesman for the Japanese government, Hirokazu Matsuno, stated that "Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are important not only to the security of Japan but also for the world," Anadolu Agency reported.  

During a news conference, Matsuno said, “We hope issues concerning Taiwan will be resolved peacefully through dialogue,” Kyodo News reported.  

Japan made these remarks at the time when the Chinese military had just begun extensive training exercises close to Taiwan, which Beijing views as its "breakaway province". It is to mention that China had announced massive military drills shortly after US Pelosi landed in Taiwan. It is the first visit by a sitting US House speaker to the island country in 25 years. 

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND), 21 Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) shortly after Pelosi landed in Taipei, Taiwan's capital, on Tuesday. The ministry said in a tweet, “21 PLA aircraft (J-11*8, J-16*10, KJ-500 AEW&C, Y-9 EW and Y-8 ELINT) entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ on August 2, 2022.” 

Taiwan's MND further revealed that Taipei responded to the action by dispatching a combat air patrol, sending radio alerts, and deploying defence missile systems to follow the Chinese military aircraft.

Responding to the China's military drill activities, Taiwan's Defence Ministry said, "Announcing air-naval live-fire drills around Taiwan is self-evidently apparent that they seek a cross-strait resolution by force instead of peaceful means. Activities around our territory are closely monitored by" the island's army.

Why is Japan worried?

In a bid to ensure regional security and peace, Japan is keenly observing the US Speaker's Taiwan visit, Kyodo News reported. However, at the conference when questioned if Japan supports Pelosi's trip to Taiwan, Matsuno responded, by saying, "We are not in a position to comment." It is pertinent to mention that Japan has maintained close commercial ties with Taiwan.  

Meanwhile, tensions between China and the United States have increased as a result of Pelosi's visit. Washington stated that the visit would not indicate a shift in its policy toward Taiwan, while Beijing had threatened that the Chinese military would "never sit idly by."  

Japan is worried about heightened cross-strait tensions and the possibility of a crisis because of its proximity to Taiwan. Japan and China are at odds over the Senkaku Islands group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, that are administered by Japan but claimed by China. Tokyo administers and controls the Senkaku islands as part of the city of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture and it does not acknowledge the claims of Beijing.

Further, a senior government official noted, “It is in our neighborhood. We should avoid a situation in which (the drills) would affect Japan in any way,” as per a Kyodo News report. 

Moreover, Pelosi is expected to visit Japan later this week as part of her trip around Asia, where she could have a meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. 

(Image: AP)

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Published August 3rd, 2022 at 14:22 IST

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