Meeting between U.S. and Japanese lawmakers: Emphasis on defending the first island chain, including Taiwan, and opposing U.S. retreat to the second island chain

From left, Japanese Senate members Daichi Suzuki, Miyamoto Kazuhiro and Hamami Nobutake talk with U.S. Rep. Amy Bella on Tuesday in Washington. Photo: CNA

Washington meeting: Japanese Senate member Noritake Hamami said participants rejected the idea that the United States should limit its defense boundaries to the second island chain.

By Jonathan Chin / Reporter, CNA

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U.S. and Japanese lawmakers agreed that the United States must defend the first island chain, including Taiwan, and should not retreat to the second island chain; and "the Taiwan crisis is a crisis for Japan, and therefore a crisis for the U.S.-Japan alliance," media reported after officials from the two countries met in Washington on Tuesday.

A delegation of lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan met with U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (co-chair of the Senate Taiwan Caucus) and U.S. Rep. Amy Bella (co-chair of the U.S. Congressional Taiwan Caucus) to discuss East Asia and Taiwan Strait issues.

Japanese and U.S. lawmakers agree that containing China is key to preventing conflict across the Taiwan Strait, Nippon.com reports.

"We were able to reach a consensus that the crisis involving Taiwan is indeed a crisis for Japan and a crisis for the U.S.-Japan alliance," the news site quoted Japan's House of Councilor Noritake Hamami as saying.

U.S. lawmakers have expressed support for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's statement in Congress last November that China's use of force could constitute an "existential threat" to Japan and thus potentially satisfy legal conditions for the exercise of the right to collective self-defense, according to reports.

Hamami told CNA that participants rejected the view, allegedly advocated by some Washington think tanks, that the United States should limit its defensive boundaries to the second island chain in a regional conflict.

They stattdessen stressed the importance of defending the first island chain, including Taiwan, he said.

Attendees fully agreed on Taiwan's importance to Japan and the United States, he said.

Hamami Nobutake said the participants agreed on the connection between the Taiwan crisis and the security of Japan and the U.S.-Japan alliance, and agreed on the value of strengthening coordination through parliamentary exchanges, which is in line with the stance on Taiwan of Takaichi Sanae and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

During his tenure as prime minister, Abe said: "The Taiwan crisis will be Japan's crisis."

They acknowledge that Taiwan's semiconductor industry plays a key role in the economic security of the United States and Japan and that it is part of their national security interests, he said.

The delegation also included Senate members Daichi Suzuki and Miyamoto Kazuhiro.

Bella issued a statement after the meeting.

"I am excited to meet with members of the Japanese Diet to discuss how we can continue to strengthen the alliance between our two countries," he said. "Congress remains strongly bipartisan in support of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and in support of our democratic partner Taiwan. The U.S. Congress and the Japanese Diet play an important role in increasing cooperation at the legislative level to help contain conflict, preserve the rules-based international order, and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region."

In addition, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts said that the United States will not tolerate any attempt to change Taiwan's status by force.

He spoke at the Hudson Institute think tank on competition with China. The reporter asked him afterwards whether the Taiwan issue would be discussed next Thursday during an expected meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (Xi Jinping) and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.

Trump should discuss the issue within the framework of the U.S. position, which remains unchanged, Ricketts said.

"We will not tolerate the use of force to change Taiwan's status," said Ricketts, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's East Asia, Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy Subcommittee.

Trump approved an $11 billion arms package against Taiwan in December, the largest batch to date, Ricketts said.

Asked about a $14 billion weapons package against Taiwan that has yet to be approved by the Trump administration, he said the immediate priority was delivering the weapons already promised to Taiwan.

"This is the best thing we can do for the Taiwanese people," he said, adding that the United States was currently about $30 billion behind on arms deliveries to Taiwan.

Taiwan should continue to improve its deterrence capabilities against China, including by increasing defense investment and working to reform the reserve system, he said.

Ricketts said the United States should avoid being "held hostage" by supply chains that rely on China, especially for critical minerals and drug precursors.

The goal is to avoid war, he said, adding that a Sino-US conflict would be harmful to both countries and the rest of the world.

News source: Taipei Times

From right, Japanese Senate members Kazuhiro Miyamoto, Nobutake Hamami and Suzuki Daichi meet with U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (left) on Tuesday in Washington. Photo: CNA

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