Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says that an invasion of Taiwan or a large-scale cyber attack on Taiwan would be a matter of concern to Japan. This comment comes a week after Abe’s statement that any Taiwan emergency would be an emergency for the Japan-US alliance.
In an interview on Tuesday, Abe was asked what he meant by the term “Taiwan emergency”. He said that meant a land invasion or a large-scale cyber attack aimed at weakening the resolve of or causing chaos among Taiwanese people.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Joanne Ou said on Thursday that China has not abandoned its ambitions to annex Taiwan. She says Abe is not the only important international friend concerned with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. She said that there are others who wish to protect the cross-strait status quo.
She says Taiwan is not only important due to its geographical location, but also because it is on the frontline of a clash between democracy and authoritarianism. She said that in this precarious geopolitical situation, Taiwan should not only protect its sovereignty, freedom, and democracy, but also deepen its cooperation with democracies like Japan and the United States.