Japan, US to declare Taiwan a mutual security concern Update: China expresses "serious concern"

In a move likely to anger China, The United States and japan will declare the Taiwan Straight a common security concern. Taiwanese representatives hailed the move and indicated that this was the first time that Japan had made a clear stance on the issue. This move comes on the heels of a bill introduced in the House of Representatives which would call for an end to the 'one China policy" the United States has had since 1979.


Update: China expresses "serious concern"

BEIJING (AFP) - Beijing expressed "serious concern" about a US and Japanese statement which described Taiwan as a common security issue amid China's military build-up.
China expresses "serious concern"

Japan and China have had rising tensions for some time now and the move is not surprising. The rhetoric from the usually reserved Japanese politicians however is surprising. A few have stated that it would be wrong to expect Japan or the U.S. to standby if China were to invade. It will be interesting to see how the Communist government reacts. They are very sensitive about anything the U.S. does and if they get really worked up about it, I suspect that the Boeing 787 order will be threatened.


[edit on 2/20/05 by FredT]

This is a concern and a bit troublesom with the US China relations.
And menchening the 787 order is also a very good point. One wich I think Just might have a big influance.

Antagonising China whilst making it blatantly obvious that the US is considering invading Syria and Iran is akin to commiting suicide.

If China lashes out the US will be in no position to stop it if its committed in the Middle East.

A completly mistimed announcement for sure.

Damn Fred it's surprising to me. I have to read more about this--this could very wellbe the biggest news item of the whole Bush administration, or well turn into it. Forget Syria, were talking about spitting in the face of China. Not so big a deal five years ago, but now, they have every intention of taking us on economiclyand very soon, militarily. Better now,than later.

I agree with Kazi.

There is nothing to be gained from pissing off China at this point in time. They will not backdown, we know this to be true.

I cannot see a single reason why they would do this. If any one can post a reason as to why the US Admin would do this please post.

The Spy Plane incident a few years back is a prime example of China's lack of fear of confronting Washington.

Had a bit of a think about it and the only reason I can see is that the US got wind of an imminent Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

[edit on 18/2/05 by subz]

Well, maybe Rice is putting her promise of rebuilding ties / diplomatic bridges in full effect , or maybe she has nothing much to decide in the matter anyway....

[edit on 18-2-2005 by Countermeasures]

I can tell you that when dealing with China... American "Cowboy" methods do not work...

The president needs to read "the art of war" and several other Asian books, so that he can develop an idea of how to deal with China diplomatically...

Nixon was a bastard, but he knew how to deal with China.

In my business I import and export to China quite a bit, and some research into china diplomacy has served me very well... It has kept me from making the mistakes that are unforgivable...

China is big on respect... and it is easy to have misunderstandings without meaning to... and they don't forgive some transgressions easily...

I am NOT saying we should bend over for anyone... but a bit of careful diplomacy is the least we should expect from our president. (we have to meet them halfway)

It is the job of the President to learn to deal with the world on the worlds terms... otherwise He makes our country come across as very arrogant...

Also, China seems to largely ignore taiwan, until we start sabre rattling...
then the pride of the Chinese requires that they posture in return...

like I said... it is a respect thing... best our president learns that, before he goes and makes an unforgivable mistake...

Originally posted by subz
Antagonising China whilst making it blatantly obvious that the US is considering invading Syria and Iran is akin to commiting suicide.

If China lashes out the US will be in no position to stop it if its committed in the Middle East.

A completly mistimed announcement for sure.

Please China trying anything with the US is akin to suicide for China as well. I doubt any such conflict would stay non nuclear for long. We got alot more but Chinas got enough to mess us up though not close to Russian MAD levels.

China would never get troops to the US they would all be at the bottom of the ocean before they go within a 1000 miles of the US shore. The US prospects for fighting China on its land dont look much better.

That dont leave both sides with many other options


[edit on 18-2-2005 by ShadowXIX]

Speculation Versus Fact

It's interesting to read the opinions here, and there are a lot of good points brought up.

For my part, I'm satisfied that the parties involved in this decision know exactly what they're doing.

Yes, China is a powerful nation and growing more powerful.

So is the right strategy to leave them unchallenged, or decide where the lines need to be drawn?

The U.S. and Japan are making their opinions known as to which strategy they favor.

For its part, China has been making no secret of its ambitions. And so it goes.

I see a lot of people "misunderestimating" U.S. strategy, and I like seeing that.

It makes victory all the more swift.

Originally posted by Red Golem
This is a concern and a bit troublesom with the US China relations.
And menchening the 787 order is also a very good point. One wich I think Just might have a big influance.

I doubt that Boeing or the Washington lobby has that much clout in Washington these days after the Tanker fiasco and Boeing is squarly in McCains crosshairs. However, also remebr that a huge chunk of the plane is to be built in places other than the US such as Japan, so any threats tot he order will have impact in many spots.

This is terrible news indeed.

Lazarus, thank you for that insightful post about China. The US is stirring up trouble and is doing the sabre rattling it seems, especially after so many decades of the 'one china' policy (which we all know isn't a reality) that was adopted by the west the US continues to say one thing and do another. China feels it has to assert itself on an issue they feel so strong about and that is right in China's sphere of influence.

Taiwan is an internal issue, a rogue province and it is none of the west's business. Taiwan is Chinese land and the US and Japan's interference in this manner is very dangerous to the entire area. I feel the US's sabre rattling by Bush is going to be the final catalyst for a large global nuclear arms race and the NPT becoming totally useless in the near future as more and more rogue powers get the bomb and other nations feel they have to come up with a deterrent to maintain the status quo.

The US and Japan can't stop China from taking back Taiwan forever, you should see how close it is on the map to the mainland and the speed of the chinese modernization we'll see in the coming decades it's going to only become even harder for the US to be able to hold Taiwan. It'd be like China trying to hold an island that's 20 miles off the Californian coast from US forces.

That's how I feel on the matter. Can't we just all get along
?

thanks,
drfunk

Typical commie reply, drfunk.

Everyone calm down. This is nothing more than a statement of concern, a statement of the obvious. It is not policy, and does not signal any "sabre rattling" by the US. China is the expert at sabre rattling, the US merely is recognizing fact by issuing a statement. Japan has every right to be concerned as well. Just wait a few days, and this will be forgotten. Nothing to see here, move along folks...

BEIJING (AFP) - Beijing expressed "serious concern" about a US and Japanese statement which described Taiwan as a common security issue amid China's military build-up.
China expresses "serious concern"