Such Chinese military expansion, he said Monday, could threaten Japan's "Survival," and "If that is the case, Japan and the U.S. must defend Taiwan together."
China's state media on Wednesday published a piece in response warning that if Japan is involved in a conflict over Taiwan, it "Will become the target of China's military strike. This will endanger Japan's survival."
His gaffe is that he blurted out the truth that a Chinese takeover of Taiwan would blow up the half-century-old security order in Asia and pose a direct military threat to Japan, whose southernmost islands are adjacent to Taiwan.
The subjugation of Taiwan, despite U.S. support and military aid, would undermine if not end the credibility of the U.S. security pact with Japan, which helps maintain the country's independence.
In the balance of power between the world's two largest economies, the U.S. and China, the world's third-largest economy, Japan, is critical.
The U.S. wants to protect open navigation and commerce in Asia, where Japan is a counterweight to China's economic heft.
China wants to pry Japan away from the U.S. That would pave the way for Chinese Communist Party dominance of the Asian continent and Pacific region.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-revealing-gaffe-roils-asia-11625869335
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