It is worth noting that the political tensions between China and Taiwan are at an all-time-high right now and this is also because Taiwan is going to elect a new President next year and China hopes that the next President could be in favour of its unification with China. But it is known that US and Japan have always showed support for Taiwan in its fight against China which is the main concern for China’s communist party. Amidst all these, Japan’s former Prime Minister Taro Aso met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. During the meeting, Japan’s Aso “told her(Tsai) about the popularity of Taiwanese comic books in Japan”. In return, Taiwan’s President also thanked Aso for his “encouragement” in the morning speech, excerpts of which are mentioned below:
Aso said that “I believe that now is the time for Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and other like-minded countries to be prepared to put into action very strong deterrence,” during an online session, adding that “It’s the resolve to fight.” Also, adding to his statement, he mentioned that “clearly showing the will to defend Taiwan was a form of deterrence. He did not specify China as the aggressor, but said it was crucial for Japan, as a neighbour of Taiwan, and other countries that are upholding international order, to send the message to China and the rest of the international community”.
At the same forum gathering, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said “While we don’t seek military confrontation and hope for a peaceful, stable and beneficial coexistence with our neighbours, Taiwan is always ready to defend our democracy and way of life,” and added that “her government was committed to improving its defences and did not take the backing of its security partners for granted.” Earlier, Japan’s deputy prime minister made comments regarding defending Taiwan which were not taken well by China who said that such statements “harmed the political foundation of China-Japan relations.” Japan’s former politicians have also said that if China attacks Taiwan and is able to capture it then the foundation and existence of Japan is in danger as well.
