Great explanation of the China-Japan altercation by Chas Freeman, imho the wisest diplomat ever produced by the US
https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1998946046618345565
Great explanation of the China-Japan altercation by Chas Freeman, imho the wisest diplomat ever produced by the US (he's had many roles, including Asst. Secretary of Defense and famously the main interpreter for Nixon during his epochal 1972 China visit)
He first describes in his speech the origin of the altercation as being "Japan's threat to extend its defense perimeter to include Taiwan."
Afterwards he goes into a longer explanation in the Q&A in which he said:
"Prime Minister Takaichi... answer[ed] a hypothetical question in the Diet by suggesting that Taiwan was now once again part of Japan for defense purposes. And this of course would embolden people in Taiwan to continue to pursue independence rather than reassociation with the rest of China, and therefore it is a strategic change of some significance."
In effect, as he explains, it's unacceptable to China in several ways:
1) With regards to Japan's colonial history vis a vis Taiwan, it's especially provocative to now once more make Taiwan part of Japan's territory for defense purposes.
2) Because it emboldens independentist forces in Taiwan and therefore makes war MORE likely. This is Japan basically telling independentists: you can go ahead and declare independence, if war breaks out as a result we have your back. If you want an analogy, it's as if Macron announced officially that the French army would militarily defend Catalonia from Spain if it's seceded.
3) Last but not least, it fundamentally challenges the post-WWII settlement, on which the world order is based. As Freeman explains, Taiwan was recovered from Japan under the Cairo and Potsdam declarations - Allied war aims that the U.S. and China fought and bled for together. By re-extending its defense perimeter to Taiwan, Japan is effectively seeking to reverse the outcome of WWII.
posted by Satish Sharma at
09:18
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