Japan and US Shift Language on Taiwan, Signaling Support for Island’s Autonomy: Experts

Analysts say cooperation between the United States and Japan seems to be part of a broader effort to enhance Taiwan’s regional status and counter China.

Guards raise Taiwan's national flag on the Democracy Boulevard at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on Nov. 29, 2024. I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images

News Analysis

Beijing’s recent warning to Tokyo about not using Taiwan to create trouble adds new tension to an already shifting dynamic in the Indo–Pacific, where the United States and Japan are modifying their stance on Taiwan, according to China experts.

On March 7, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi cautioned Japan not to meddle in what Beijing regards as its own affairs regarding Taiwan. This came in response to Japan’s growing alignment with the United States and its recent moves to distinguish Taiwan from mainland China, a trend that’s been building for weeks.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has never ruled Taiwan and views the self-governing democracy as a breakaway province. Beijing has not ruled out the use of force to achieve what it calls “reunification” with the mainland.

In mid-February, the U.S. State Department reworked its “U.S.–Taiwan Relations” fact sheet, dropping the line “we do not support Taiwan independence” and promising to back Taiwan’s role in international organizations “where applicable.”

Around the same time, Japan announced that starting on May 26, naturalized Japanese citizens born in Taiwan could list Taiwan as their place of origin instead of China. For years, Taiwanese in Japan had to choose China as their birthplace, so some observers say that this change—referred to as a “rectification of name” by Taiwanese media—felt like a long-overdue shift.

Beijing didn’t take the situation lightly. Its foreign ministry called Japan’s decision a petty trick that meddled in Chinese affairs, while Japan’s Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki dismissed the criticism, saying it was Tokyo’s internal affair.

Meanwhile, analysts say the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views Japan’s moves as part of a bigger challenge to its authority.

Su Tzu-yun, director of Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, says Japan used to tiptoe around the CCP to keep the peace, but this is no longer the case. He recently told The Epoch Times that Tokyo is now making a more apparent distinction between Taipei and Beijing, aligning its stance more closely with Washington’s approach.

Ho Szu-Shen, director of the Center of Japan and East Asia Studies at Taiwan’s Fu Jen Catholic University, concurs that Japan’s move gives legal weight to what many Taiwanese have wanted for years: a distinct identity separate from mainland China.

Japanese journalist Yaita Akio was surprised by the timing, especially under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who some believe is much softer on China than past leaders like the late Shinzo Abe, who was staunchly pro-Taiwan. Akio told The Epoch Times the situation indicates that Japan and the United States are jointly distancing themselves from Beijing and forging closer ties with Taipei.

On the U.S. side, the State Department called its Feb. 16 update to its fact sheet a routine effort to explain its “unofficial relationship” with Taiwan. The Trump administration is sticking to the “One China” policy but has made it clear that it opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side” and expects “cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait,” according to the fact sheet.

The revised fact sheet also doubled down on arming Taiwan for self-defense—a promise rooted in the Taiwan Relations Act, the Six Assurances, and the three U.S.–China joint communiqués.

The Taiwan Relations Act, enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1979, established significant yet non-diplomatic relations between the United States and Taiwan.

The Six Assurances are six foreign policy principles established by the Reagan administration regarding U.S.–Taiwan relations.

This isn’t the first time Washington has adjusted its wording. In 2022, the Biden administration removed phrases like “does not support Taiwan independence” and “Taiwan is a part of China,” only to backtrack less than a month later.

Akio said that removing the phrase “does not support Taiwan independence” suggests that the United States may advocate for Taiwan to have a more prominent role on the global stage. This could surpass its previous observer status in organizations such as the World Health Assembly. Taiwan joined the organization in 2009 but lost its status in 2016 due to pressure from Beijing.

On Feb. 7, President Donald Trump and Ishiba issued a joint statement, reiterating their “strong opposition” to the Chinese regime’s military provocations in the East and South China Seas, urging a peaceful approach to Taiwan.

Days later, U.S. and Canadian warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait on separate occasions, with the CCP responding by sending its planes and ships across the median line. Then came a big multinational exercise in the Philippine Sea with American, French, and Japanese forces.

In response to the CCP’s growing aggression in the region, Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo–Pacific Command, gave a warning at a defense forum last month that the Chinese military’s drills around Taiwan are “rehearsals” for a forced unification with the mainland.

Su said the naval activities of the United States and its allies serve as a warning to China, helping to maintain stability in the Indo–Pacific. He pointed out that an increasing number of European ships have been transiting through the Taiwan Strait in recent years, indicating a growing global concern regarding the CCP’s ambitions to seize Taiwan.

While these actions do not constitute formal diplomatic recognition of Taiwan, they demonstrate increasing support for the island’s autonomy. The China analysts suggest this is a strategic move by the United States and its allies to distance themselves from Beijing and strengthen Taipei’s position. Additionally, cooperation between the United States and Japan seems to be part of a broader effort to enhance Taiwan’s regional status, curb the CCP’s influence, and maintain peace in the Indo–Pacific region.

Xin Ning contributed to this report.