Politics & Government

Aso Calls for Japan-U.S.-Australia Cooperation over China

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Taro Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party speaks at a conference hosted by the Australian Institute of International Affairs in Canberra, Australia on Monday.

Jiji Press

15:06 JST, November 14, 2023

CANBERRA (Jiji Press) — Taro Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, during a visit to Australia on Monday, expressed strong concern about China’s possible military invasion of Taiwan and called for cooperation among Japan, the United States and Australia.

“Tokyo, Canberra and Washington, D.C., must speak in one voice that they shall not tolerate any change of status quo achieved through force,” Aso said in a speech at a conference hosted by the Australian Institute of International Affairs in the Australian capital of Canberra.

The former Japanese prime minister mentioned the possibility that China might first target Taiwan’s Kinmen island, which is close to mainland China. “If Taiwan becomes part of mainland China, the role of the U.S. Pacific Fleet … would be diminished,” he warned.

Aso also pointed out that China’s apparent long-term goal is to extend its influence to the so-called second island chain, which includes Japan’s Izu and Ogasawara islands and the Marianas. He added that dealing with China will be a “long marathon.”

He proposed adding Japan to the AUKUS framework among the United States, Britain and Australia to make it “JAUKUS.”