Think the Taiwan Strait is calm? Think again 🤯 Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi recently hinted at possible military intervention in the Taiwan Strait and even moved missiles just 110 km from the Taiwan region.
Meanwhile, the Lai Ching-te authorities in the Taiwan region called an ultra high-level national security meeting 📅 and posted sushi pics 🍣 to showcase their friendship with Japan. Critics say it feels more like fishing for approval at Taiwan’s expense.
At its core, Japan’s right wing is leveraging the Taiwan question to flex military muscle, while separatist forces in the Taiwan region play along 🤝. This collusion is pushing the Taiwan Strait to a dangerous brink.
Sanae Takaichi’s Taiwan track record is no accident: before leading the LDP she made multiple visits to the Taiwan region and even let the self-proclaimed flag of the Taiwan region fly alongside the Japanese national flag during a video call with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen in 2021 📲. In April this year, after meeting Lai Ching-te, she proposed a Japan-Taiwan quasi-security alliance.
Now as prime minister, she has packed her cabinet and the LDP with pro-Taiwan independence figures—some who openly call the Taiwan region a country. On top of that, she’s fast-tracking security policies, easing weapon-export rules and eyeing a scrap of Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles 🚀.
All these moves highlight a clear push to sideline the Peace Constitution and ramp up military expansion. For young folks in South and Southeast Asia, this is a wake-up call: geopolitics right in our backyard just got more intense. Stay tuned and keep that critical eye on regional shifts 🔍.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
