TAIWAN: Taiwan’s security has started to augment Japan’s concerns, with China gaining momentum. Japan is hosting the G7 summit this weekend in Hiroshima, with the possibility of China’s domineering effect at the event despite Japan strengthening its base as a prime segment in laying the foundation for the stability of the region.
In the case of a dispute between China and the independent island of Taiwan, Naha, which is a component of the Okinawa island chain, would be at the frontline.
The territory has surfaced as one of the country’s greatest flashpoints, particularly as tensions between the US and China are gradually increasing. Beijing claims the region and has been threatened with taking it by force if necessary.
During three days of armed services training operations in April, China started practising “sealing off” Taiwan. According to Japan’s defence ministry, a Chinese aircraft carrier was around 230 kilometres (145 miles) south of Miyako Island, which is also a part of the Okinawa chain.
The Mayor of Ishigaki, Yoshitaka Nakayama, mentions, “Geographically speaking, we’re very close to Taiwan and Southeast Asia; we feel a sense of crisis.” Nakayama also added that “Chinese ships are patrolling very closely. The equipment we have in terms of missile launchers is for defending ourselves. It’s to protect us in case there are planes or ships that want to attack us. We’re not looking for war.”
At the start of 2023, approximately 600 troops had gathered force in the region, which also incorporated squads that had the capacity to launch missiles from land-to-ship and land-to-air into the East China Sea and even cross that boundary.
Two hotspots lie close to the Ishigaki and the series of islands: the Sentaku islands, which are not inhabited and controlled by Japan despite China’s claims to hold power under the Diaoyu Islands, and Taiwan, which is situated 200 km away.
Following discussions with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the same month, Kishida made an unforeseen tour to Ukraine and declared a $30 million (£24 million) contribution to non-lethal military assistance.
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