Japan and US reiterate support for Taiwan amid Ukraine crisis

Описание: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked fresh calls of support for Taiwan. On Tuesday, a state department official said the U.S.’ commitment to Taiwan was rock-solid, and that it would continue to provide security assistance. Over in Japan, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio reiterated the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rattled the world, and renewed attention on tensions in the Taiwan Strait. During a budget review session, Japan’s prime minister was asked about the impact of Ukraine’s crisis on the Taiwan issue.

Ishii Akira
Japanese lawmaker
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that if we don’t help Ukraine counter Russia’s military actions and protect an independent country, there will be repercussions that severely impact the situation in Taiwan.

Kishida Fumio
Japanese prime minister
The Asia-Pacific region, and the East Asia region in particular, must not allow the use of force to change the status quo. Japan has always hoped for a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue. We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops.

Over at a House committee hearing in Washington, officials repeatedly turned to the tensions between China and Taiwan.

Jessica Lewis
Assistant secretary of state
And I agree that we need to make it absolutely clear that our support for Taiwan is rock-solid. We have provided US$18 billion to them in security assistance and we are going to continue to do that.

The state department stressed that both China and Russia sought regional and global expansion. Officials said that, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s campaigns against Taiwan, the U.S. would continue to support Ukraine while keeping an eye on Beijing.

Mara Karlin
Assistant secretary of defense
Taiwan is a perfect example. As you know, we are cooperating closely in line with the Taiwan Relations Act to help Taiwan build its military with defensive capabilities and in particular to do so with the asymmetric capabilities what is unfortunately an ever-growing threat.

The conflict in Ukraine has set off another wave of support for Taiwan in the U.S. and Japan, with officials warning China not to escalate tensions.