As lawmakers, the Biden administration and Japan move closer to consensus on the need to be ready to deter and respond to a feared Chinese military invasion of Taiwan in the coming years, one interested party is trying to amplify warnings about risk to the Japanese province that could become collateral damage in a regional war.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, who has long opposed the U.S. military presence on the islands, traveled to Washington in early March to meet members of Congress and officials at the Pentagon and State Department. Trying to stop the developing consensus in Washington and Japan, Tamaki says there is little chance China will invade Taiwan, the scenario that has become a preoccupation among U.S. officials.
Tamaki says the risk of war comes mainly from a potential action by Taiwan, such as a declaration of independence, or the U.S. ending Washington’s decadeslong policy of having formal diplomatic relations only with Beijing. He said his effort focuses on persuading the U.S. where the risk is coming from.
