Japan's gov't sees Taiwan tensions as regional security risk

Japan believes rising tension surrounding Taiwan requires its attention “with a sense of crisis” as China intensifies military activities in the area and the United States steps up support for the self-governing island

TOKYO -- Japan believes rising tension surrounding Taiwan requires its attention “with a sense of crisis” as China intensifies military activities in the area and the United States steps up support for the self-governing island. Japan's concerns about Taiwan, Beijing’s growing rivalry with the United States and China’s increasingly assertive military actions in the region were added in an annual Defense Ministry paper that was adopted Tuesday by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s Cabinet. “Stabilizing the Taiwan situation is important for Japan’s national security and stability of the international community,” the paper said. “We need to pay close attention with a sense of crisis more than ever before.” As China flexes its muscle in the Taiwan Strait and the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan has become a regional flashpoint, as Japan, the United States and other democracies develop closer ties with the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as a renegade territory to be united by force if necessary.