Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said China should be aware that any crisis with Taiwan would pull in Japan and its ally the U.S., warning of a dire situation if Beijing takes military action against Taipei.
Delivering a speech by video to an audience in Taiwan on Wednesday, Abe said actions of an increasingly powerful China toward Japan and Taiwan were likely to become more complex, blurring the line between war and peace. The comments were some of the most pointed by a prominent Tokyo politician on tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
“A military adventure would be the path to economic suicide,” Abe said. “We must keep reiterating that peaceful ties between China and Taiwan are the only option.”
The remarks by Abe, who stepped down as premier last year citing ill health, come after China sent a fresh sortie of warplanes toward Taiwan on Sunday in response to a visit by a group of U.S. lawmakers. China’s Communist Party sees the island as part of its territory despite never having ruled it and seeks to block any official interactions with other countries.
Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party asserts the island is a de facto sovereign nation awaiting wider international recognition and not part of Chinese territory.-Bloomberg
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