Japan, US to be judged by history for interfering in China's internal affairs, Japanese scholars say as tensions in Taiwan Straits worry Okinawans

By Xing Xiaojing

Published: Aug 06, 2022 

Xinhua

People take part in a protest in Okinawa, Japan, May 15, 2022, the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's reversion to Japan from the control of the United States. Photo:Xinhua

Japanese scholars blamed Japan and the US for escalating situation across Taiwan Straits and slammed the Japanese government for having no regard for the safety of people in Okinawa amid the rising regional tension by failing to refute US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's "egregious mistake" of visiting Taiwan island and blatantly interfering in the Taiwan question.

Japan and the US have no right to intervene in the Taiwan question and will be criticized by history if they do as "Taiwan is the territory of China, neither Japan's nor the US'," Yasukatsu Matsushima, a scholar and political activist from Okinawa, told the Global Times on Saturday, noting that anger is growing in Okinawa over the "risky" nature of Pelosi's provocation.

The remarks by Matsushima, a professor from Ryukoku University, came after China on Friday announced eight countermeasures in response to Pelosi's visit to the island of Taiwan, including canceling China-US theater commanders talk, defense policy coordination talks and a military maritime security consultative mechanism.

The communication channels between the Chinese and US militaries have been "virtually severed," raising the risk of an accidental clash in the region, reported the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. It said that the escalation of tensions across the Taiwan Strait has added to the anxiety of Okinawans, considering the Yonaguni Island, the westernmost point of Okinawa, is only 111 kilometers away from Taiwan island.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) are conducting large-scale live-fire military drills of around the island of Taiwan after Pelosi's visit to the island Tuesday night.

Okinawan political activist Yuzo Takayama told the Global Times on Saturday that 70 percent of the US military bases in Japan are located in Okinawa, and if the US military bases become targets due to its provocative actions, Okinawans will inevitably suffer great harm.

"An important feature of the drills is to prevent the intervention of external forces, which can be seen from the areas and subjects of the drills. For example, the two areas in the north are close to Okinawa, and the area in the south can control or block the Bashi Channel, which is the only route to and from the South China Sea, and this will to some extent deter external interference in the Taiwan question," Meng Xiangqing, a professor at the National Defense University, was quoted by CCTV News as saying.

The two northern areas of the drills are close to Okinawa, which means that the US forces stationed in Okinawa are also subject to deterrence, said the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

In the 77 years since the end of the World War II, the US military and the Japanese Self-Defense Force have conducted exercises in the waters and airspace of Okinawa and its surrounding areas, promoted the construction of US military bases and even Self-Defense Force bases, and tried to turn the Okinawa into a battlefield again, which will undoubtedly cause great harm, Matsushima told the Global Times.

If emergency situation really happens in Japan, the Japanese government may not be able to protect the safety of its own people, said Matsushima. "If the 'what happens to Taiwan' affects Okinawa, I don't think the Japanese government will protect the people here at all," he said.

Matsushima noted that it is the US that has raised regional tensions, and Japan, as a follower of the US, did not refute Pelosi's grave mistake of visiting Taiwan, should also be blamed. These actions just show that the Japanese government has no regard for the safety and daily life of the Okinawan people.

On Wednesday, Japan with other Group of Seven members and the European Union issued a statement that accused China over the Taiwan question. The next day, talks between the Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers, which were reportedly scheduled for Thursday afternoon on the sidelines of ASEAN events in Phnom Penh, were cancelled.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Pelosi during her visit to Japan on Friday and criticized China's military drills around the island.

In response, Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference on Friday that Japan is historically responsible for its serious wrongdoing on the Taiwan question and the country is in no position to make unwarranted remarks on the question.

"Neither the US nor Japan has publicly recognized Taiwan as a 'country,' which means that Japan and the US agree that 'Taiwan is part of China'," said Takayama, noting that the two countries' 'blatant intervention in the Taiwan issue is undoubtedly meddling in other countries' internal affairs, which has no basis in international law.

What the US really wants is to ensure its military "presence" in East Asia and an "unstable" security environment in the region, which is also the purpose of Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, he said.

Given the history, "at least the Okinawan people don't think the Japanese government will guarantee the safety of its people in an emergency," he said.