Tokyo says Taiwan's security directly connected with Japan's

TOKYO • Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said the security of Taiwan is directly linked with that of Japan, as tensions around the island build up and its defences are increasingly overshadowed by China's military might.

The comments from a Cabinet minister known for his close ties to Taipei came a week after China sent 28 warplanes near Taiwan, in the latest ratcheting up of military pressure around the democratically ruled island, 110km from Japan at its nearest point.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

"The peace and stability of Taiwan are directly connected to Japan and we are closely monitoring ties between China and Taiwan, as well as Chinese military activity," Mr Kishi said in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday.

"As China strengthens its military, its balance with Taiwan is tipping heavily to the Chinese side," he said, adding that the gap is widening every year.

Taiwan is crucial for Tokyo, with the Luzon Strait to the south an important shipping lane for the energy tankers that resource-poor Japan relies on to power its economy.

In April, Mr Kishi visited Yonaguni, the Japanese island nearest to Taiwan, and network FNN reported him as saying days later at a ruling party seminar that if Taiwan "turns red", the situation may change drastically, and Japan needs to be ready for that.

China's Foreign Ministry called the comments reckless and irresponsible.

The younger brother of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, Mr Kishi was among a group of lawmakers who paid a visit to Taipei last year to convey condolences over the death of its former president Lee Teng-hui.

Taiwan has become an increasingly important topic for the United States and its allies, many of which are concerned about China's growing assertiveness around an island whose semiconductor industry has become a linchpin of the global supply chain.

Japan announced plans yesterday to send an additional one million vaccine doses to Taiwan, after it shipped 1.24 million doses at the start of this month as Taipei was struggling to procure its own supplies and blamed China for impeding shipments of the shots.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden emphasised the importance of reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait following their April summit - the first mention of the issue in a joint statement since 1969.

In the same statement, Japan, whose pacifist Constitution leaves it heavily dependent on the US for its "nuclear umbrella", vowed to bolster its own defence capabilities. BLOOMBERG

WATCHING SINO-TAIWAN TIES

The peace and stability of Taiwan are directly connected to Japan and we are closely monitoring ties between China and Taiwan, as well as Chinese military activity... As China strengthens its military, its balance with Taiwan is tipping heavily to the Chinese side.

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JAPANESE DEFENCE MINISTER NOBUO KISHI