In recent weeks, Japan and China have been engaged in a nasty row over Taiwan. Many observers are worried about Washington’s refusal to side with Tokyo. However, the White House’s attempt to chart a middle ground should not be altered.

The dispute erupted after Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi declared in front of her country’s parliament that, should a Taiwan crisis lead China to deploy “warships” and consider “the use of force,” Tokyo would view it as a threat to its survival and consider intervening militarily. Although this was Japan’s tacit policy, Takaichi was the first active Japanese leader to declare it publicly.

Beijing’s reaction was predictably harsh. It threatened that Tokyo’s intervention would end in a “crushing defeat,” warned that “those who play with fire will perish by it,” demanded that its citizens avoid visiting Japan, and escalated its military provocations near Japanese islands.

Some experts and Japanese officials have criticized America’s ambiguity. Although the US ambassador in Tokyo proclaimed his “unshakeable” support against Beijing’s “coercion,” President Donald Trump declined to back Japan and, when asked about China, declared that “a lot of our allies aren’t friends either.”

On November 24, Trump initiated a call with President Xi Jinping during which Xi stressed that Taiwan’s “return to China [was] an integral part of the post-war international order.” Those remarks apparently prompted Trump to ask Takaichi not to provoke China, though Tokyo denies this account.

Observers also warned that Trump’s tougher line on Japan—Trump has also slapped 15 percent tariffs on Tokyo and portrayed the US-Japan alliance as “one-sided”—combined with his recent trade

© The National Interest