Japan warned of increasing Chinese aggression against Taiwan in a new national defense white paper, stressing the importance of Taiwan in maintaining peace and security in the region.
The new white paper, which is released annually, touched on the topic of Taiwan, highlighting Chinese military activates around the region and warned of the overall military balance favoring China, Forbes reported Thursday.
Japan’s paper comes as Dozens of Chinese warplanes entered Taiwanese airspace in June, making it the largest incursion yet and a sign of rapidly increasing tensions between the countries.
Japan details a ‘sense of crisis’ over Taiwan in annual defense white paper (by @SethRobson1 and @HanaKusumoto). https://t.co/yFdH8GWYQv
— Aaron Kidd (@kiddaaron) July 13, 2021
“Stabilizing the situation surrounding Taiwan is important for Japan’s security and the stability of the international community.” The paper read, adding that it was necessary that countries should pay “close attention to the situation … more than ever before.”
The paper also highlighted that attention should be paid especially to trends of “the strengthening of Chinese and Taiwanese forces, the sale of weapons to Taiwan by the United States, and Taiwan’s own development of it’s main military equipment.”
“It is strongly hoped that China will play active roles in the region and the international community in a more cooperative manner,” the paper reads. (RELATED: Beijing Snubs Taiwan’s ‘Meaningful Dialogue’ Offer)
The United States is Japan’s “only ally,” Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said in Tuesday’s defense white paper. https://t.co/nh2hnUSTub
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 13, 2021
Japan also expressed concern about China’s “high-level growth” of their defense budget that focused on nuclear and missile forces, in addition to cyber and space frontiers.
In addition to the Taiwan situation, the white paper also stresses the importance of the country’s relationship with the United States, adding that as the environment becomes “increasingly severe,” the alliance is “more important than ever.”
China has recently warned the State Department to “stop all forms” of outreach with Taiwan in response to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s proposed “trade framework” with the country.