Barely 48 hours after he took office as Japan’s 100th prime minister, Fumio Kishida signaled to the world he will be a stalwart ally of Taiwan — his country’s widespread economic relations with mainland China notwithstanding.
Kishida’s pro-Taiwan signals come as the island said it is "on the alert" for attacks from China, which has long claimed Taiwan is a province of the "fatherland" and has recently sent 148 air force planes into its defense zone.
When asked about Taiwan on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi surprised reporters by replying, "Instead of simply monitoring the situation, we hope to weigh the various possible scenarios that may arise to consider what options we have, as well as the preparations we must make."
This reply by Motegi, who was just reappointed by Kishida after he succeeded outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, was reportedly the first time a government official had spoken publicly of Japan’s involvement in the 70-year-plus China-Taiwan feud.
Kishida sent an additional signal by keeping on Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, brother of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a hard-liner on Taiwan.
Kishida, post-war Japan’s longest-serving foreign minister, had said during his campaign for prime minister, that Taiwan will be the ''next big problem'' for Japan and cited China's ham-fisted crackdown on Hong Kong as a warning sign.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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