Experts Believe Japan May Send Active-Duty Defense Attache to Taiwan for the First Time, Disregarding the CCP’s Objection

According to a report, Japan’s Defense Ministry plans to send incumbent officials to the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Taiwan this summer for the first time in 50 years since diplomatic relations between Japan and Taiwan were severed. As experts believe, this is a breakthrough in Japan’s relations with Taiwan. The U.S. and its allies will thus rely more on Taiwan’s intelligence-gathering capabilities against the People’s Liberation Army of Communist China. Meanwhile, experts also believe that the CCP’s objections will not change Japan’s decision.

The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTA) was established after the breakup of diplomatic relations between Japan and Taiwan in 1972 to maintain a substantive level of exchange between Japan and Taiwan and is equivalent to a Japanese representative office in Taiwan. Considering the relationship with Communist China, no active-duty defense officer has been assigned to this position, but rather a retired one, equivalent to a Major General, has been permanently stationed in Taiwan, which limits his ability to gather information.

Professor Masumi Kawasaki of the Department of International Relations at Tokyo International University said this plan should have been underway for a long time, which the United States, Britain, and Australia have endorsed already. It was only then that the news was revealed, under the increasing frequency of Communist China’s military operations around Taiwan. The purpose is to strengthen the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the partnership among the four countries in QUAD, and the five-eye alliance formed by the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. Thus, the exchange of information with Taiwan has become increasingly important.