Pacific Affairs: An International Review of Asia and the Pacific

Volume 73, No. 3

 

Taiwan in Japan's Relations with China and the United States after the Cold War
By Qingxin Ken Wang

 

Abstract

Until 1972, the Taiwan question had been a major cause of tensions in Japan's relations with China. The Taiwan issue has re-emerged as a new bone of contention. In the aftermath of China's missile tests in the Taiwan strait in early 1996, Japan has committed itself to providing logistical support for American military operations in the Taiwan strait under the revised U.S.-Japan security cooperation guidelines. How do the Japanese perceive China and Taiwan after the cold war? How has Japan's policy toward China and Taiwan changed in recent years? What are the factors shaping Tokyo's relations with mainland China and Taiwan? How have the revised US-Japan security cooperation guidelines affected Japan's relations with mainland China and Taiwan? These are the major questions to be addressed in this paper.

The arguments of this paper are as follows: The Taiwan issue has once again posed a major challenge to Japan's stable relations with China as a result of China's rapid international ascendancy and Taiwan's democratization. Especially, Japan's new security commitment under the revised security guidelines has placed Tokyo in a very difficult dilemma between preserving its alliance with the United States and maintaining stable relations with China. While Tokyo's best hope is to see a peaceful resolution of cross-strait conflicts, Tokyo may have to provide logistical support for American military intervention in the event of armed conflicts in the Taiwan Strait even at the risk of triggering a military confrontation with China.