Japan to Closely Watch Trump Remarks on Taiwan in Talks with Xi

Washington, May 4 (Jiji Press)--Former Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera indicated Monday that Tokyo will keep a close watch on U.S. President Donald Trump's possible remarks over Taiwan in his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

If Trump makes remarks deviating from his past statements over Taiwan at his meeting with Xi later this month, that would have a major impact on U.S. allies, Onodera, a lawmaker of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said at a symposium hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank.

Japan's relations with China have deteriorated due to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's parliamentary remark last November that China's possible use of force against Taiwan could constitute a so-called survival-threatening situation for Japan, in which the country could exercise its collective self-defense right.

Meanwhile, Trump is distancing himself from the Japan-China confrontation. China considers Taiwan to be at the center of its core interests.

Some in the Japanese government are concerned that Trump may weaken his country's engagement in East Asia while putting priority on striking a deal with China.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]