Well, I would say this is not a good time for this political show.
Tokyo’s worsening relations with its Asian neighbours suffered a further blow yesterday when Taiwan sent a warship to claim jurisdiction over a group of islands claimed by Japan as well as China.
Tokyo’s defence minister Yoshinori Ohno appealed for ‘calm’ after his Taiwanese counterpart Lee Jye boarded a warship with fifteen senior politicians and sailed for the resource-rich Tiaoyutai Islands in a symbolic show of support for Taiwan’s fishermen, who have repeatedly clashed with the Japanese Coast Guard.
The 4,200-ton frigate sailed close to the islands – dubbed Senkaku in Japan — in the East China Sea before returning to Taiwan, where the government has come under heavy fire for not standing up to what one legislator called Japan’s “expansionary policies” in the region.
The makeup of the expedition, which included legislators from the three major Taiwanese parties, indicated the move enjoyed widespread popular support.
Wang Jin-pyng, a politician on board the warship, said the aim was to “safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and to protect Taiwanese fishermen that have been expelled from the area by the Japan Coast Guard.”
Tadashi Ikeda, the de-facto Japanese ambassador to Taipei, called the decision to send the warship to the islands “inappropriate.”
The islands are about 400 kilometers from Japan’s Okinawan coast and are also claimed by China, which reacted angrily after what it called Tokyo’s “expansion” of its exclusive economic zone to within 37km of the Taiwan coast.
Sometimes, it’s like Taiwan is just trying to goad China into attacking. Given the current build-up by the commie state, perhaps there is some logic to this strategy.