Japanese and U.S. lawmakers met to emphasize sticking to the first island chain, saying that if something happens to Taiwan, something will happen to the Japan-U.S. alliance

The two sides met in Washington and stressed the need to defend the "first island chain" including Taiwan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is about to visit the United States next week. A group of pro-Taiwan congressmen led by Japanese Liberal Democratic Party Senator Hirofumi Takiami met with Republican Senator Tillis and Democratic Representative Bella at the U.S. Capitol on the 15th. After the meeting, Takiami stated that both sides confirmed the consensus that "when Taiwan is in trouble, Japan is in trouble, and the Japan-U.S. alliance is in trouble." He also believed that the U.S. military could not retreat to the "second island chain" centered on Guam and must stick to the "first island chain" including Taiwan.

Please read on...

Takinami, along with his companions Kazuhiro Miyamoto and Daichi Suzuki, are members of the Liberal Democratic Party's Senate "TY Council". TY is the abbreviation of "Taiwan Yukou" (Taiwan Friendship). It was founded by Takiha and serves as the president, with the purpose of strengthening Taiwan-Japan relations. The three held talks with Tillis and Bella respectively in Washington. Two US congressmen served as co-chairs of the Taiwan Connection between the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively.

According to Japanese media reports, Takinami emphasized after the meeting that one of the most important results of the meeting was that Japanese and American lawmakers reached a consensus on former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's statement that "whatever happens to Taiwan means something wrong to Japan, and it is also a matter to the Japan-US alliance." The talks also touched on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's response to a question in Congress last November about "something going on in Taiwan." Takiami revealed that US lawmakers successively expressed "support" for Takaichi's position during the talks.

Japanese Senator Hirofumi Takiba: If China invades Taiwan, the United States should abandon the one-China policy

Kyodo News reported that Takiba further stated during the meeting with Tillis that the United States should abandon the "one-China policy" once China invades Taiwan. Tillis responded that clearly letting Beijing know what the consequences would be if it used force against Taiwan would help increase deterrence.

Central News Agency reported that Takiami said that in response to reports in Japan that a U.S. think tank suggested that the U.S. military withdraw its combat power to the second island chain such as Guam, Japanese and U.S. lawmakers confirmed during the talks that it is "absolutely impossible" for the U.S. military to withdraw to the second island chain and must stick to the first island chain, including Taiwan. Takiba also pointed out that Taiwan is a major center of the global semiconductor industry, and ensuring Taiwan's security is not only a military issue, but also affects the economic security of Japan and the United States.

After the meeting, Bella's office stated that the Republican and Democratic parties in Congress will continue to support peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as Taiwan as a democratic partner; the U.S. and Japanese Congresses can also play an important role at the legislative level in deterring conflicts, maintaining the rules-based international order, and a "free and open Indo-Pacific."

US President Trump is expected to hold a summit with Xi Jinping at the White House on the 24th. Republican Senator Ricketts, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Group of the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, stressed on the 15th that Trump should discuss the Taiwan issue in the context that the U.S. position has not changed, and stated that Washington will not allow the use of force to change Taiwan's status quo; the U.S. goal is to avoid war. Once the U.S. and China go to war, it will be of no benefit to anyone.