Taiwan's Lai seeks unity in talks with veteran Japan lawmaker Ishiba
Kyodo News Aug. 13
Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te on Tuesday called for unity with Japan in preventing mainland China from "making wrong decisions" to maintain regional peace and stability, as he met with former Japanese defense chief Shigeru Ishiba.
In his talks with Ishiba, who is deemed by the Japanese public as a leading candidate to become the country's next prime minister, Lai said Taipei will "stand shoulder to shoulder with the democratic camp to exert the power of deterrence."
This VOA report from August 16 is similar to the one above but a worthwhile read-
China warns of ‘heavy price’ for Japan after lawmakers visit Taiwan
Check out the bric a brac on Ishiba's book shelf in the photo accompanying the VOA article.
Report on 66th anniversary of Taiwan Straits crisis on Kinmen Island and recent PLA military operations around Taiwan from 1 min to about 7:30 min mark.
Not sure what that emblem behind Lai's head is supposed to represent while he speaks about defending national sovereignty. Nominally, it represents the Wuqiu Lighthouse, but the imagery suggests something else.
Three big issues in South Korea right now according to opposition democratic critics are dictatorship, corruption, and "submission to Japan." The latter is on the front burner as the new right Yoon administration has clearly embarked on a pro-Japanese course. I've mentioned before that this is the legacy of the conservative class descended from the collaborators with Imperial Japan during the colonial period. These elites are the backbone of the "new right" perspective and the current effort to rewrite Korean history, erasing the excesses of Japanese rule and WWII, and the history of the independence movement as the source of legitimacy and democratic rule in South Korea.
The Yoon administration is provoking backlash by orchestrating the removal of Dokdo memorial sculptures and plaques in public places around Seoul. Dokdo consists of islets in the East Sea/Sea of Japan, occupied by South Korea and claimed by Japan as their territory. Japan annexed Dokdo by force after the Russo-Japanese war in 1905. After WWII Syngman Rhee reoccupied the islands during his presidency. The removal of the Dokdo memorials from public places is regarded as similar in concept and nature as Japan's policy of historical denialism, exemplified in part, by its attempts to remove "comfort women" statues erected here and there around the world. The 60th anniversary of the 1965 Agreement between Japan and the Park Chung-hee dictatorship to normalize relations will be "celebrated" in 2025. Prime Minister Kishida is expected to visit South Korea in the not too distant future.
It is claimed by the LDP in Japan that all outstanding historical claims were resolved by the 1965 Agreement.
Here's a link below to a pretty orthodox view describing the Indo-Pacific Command and its changing strategies, military and political in nature, to meet the China threat. Although, I don't necessarily agree with all the views expressed therein, since Indo-PacCom is a major political driver of US policies adopted by Congress toward the Far East, it is informative to see the changes envisioned by the command and their putative benefits.
Practical Understanding of U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy:Analysis of USINDOPACOM and Implications for U.S. Allies and Partners
A positive point in the article's favor is the acknowledgement that the Indo-Pacific strategy originated with Shinzo Abe. Some analysts take the position that Japan is somehow being dragged along an unwanted military policy by the US. On the contrary, ruling elites in Japan, appear to be all in. This of course, doesn't take into account popular views in Japan which may differ, although to what extent, especially in respect to their current military buildup, I haven't seen documented anywhere. I have explored the historical relationship in South Korea of the current right wing/conservative political elements as they relate to pro-Japanese views and revisionism because it is covered in the South Korean alternative media in some detail; I've yet to see exploration of the historical relationship, if any, between Japanese interests and the pro-Japan DPP in Taiwan. If qualified analysts have done this analysis of Taiwan's politics in English, I haven't seen it.
펌) 독도를 잃는 것은 나라를 잃는 것입니다. pic.twitter.com/5sebSyVFxV
— 빌레로이앤 (@yellowknife000) August 23, 2024
"Lose Dokdo, lose the country." In connection with pro-Japan Yoon policies, "new right" officials have credited the Imperial Japanese colonial administration with "modernizing" Korea. One critic said of this, "the thief left behind the ladder."
*Found the source of this (corrected) expression and where I had heard it:
— Simone Chun (@SimoneChun) August 25, 2024
