Tokyo, 18 December, /AJMEDIA/
The Japanese Foreign Ministry plans to create a senior position dedicated to Taiwan-related issues in fiscal 2022, reflecting Tokyo’s concern over rising tensions between Beijing and Taipei.
The senior coordinator for Taiwan affairs will work under the ministry’s First China and Mongolia Division, according to a proposal presented to members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday.
“We’re seeing a growing number of tasks related to Taiwan in national security, foreign policy and economic security,” Masahisa Sato, director of the LDP Foreign Affairs Division, said in announcing the planned role to reporters. “It’s a big step.”
The official also will handle diplomatic issues tied to the East China Sea including the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands, which China claims as the Diaoyu.
The proposal comes amid tensions in the Taiwan Strait. China repeatedly sends warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, raising concerns that Beijing may be rehearsing for a military invasion of the island.
“It looks a lot like them exploring their true capabilities,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California earlier this month.
With Taiwan just over 110 km from Japan’s western island of Yonaguni, Tokyo worries that a crisis involving the self-ruled island could threaten Japanese security as well. Chinese maritime activity around the Senkakus represents another concern.
Also, Japan’s Foreign Ministry has announced a new senior coordinator role dealing with international human rights issues, such as alleged abuses against the Uyghur minority in China’s Xinjiang region.
