Considering Japan’s pacifist Constitution, I am not sure legally how they would be allowed to respond if just Taiwan was attacked. Additionally the Chinese would more likely blockade Taiwan prior to any attack which makes Japanese involvement even more Constitutionally difficult:
Tokyo would step up militarily to defend Taiwan if Beijing moved to reunify the island with mainland China by force, former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger said in a panel discussion on Tuesday with other top Trump administration officials.
Pottinger, considered one of the key architects of the Trump administration’s hardline China policies, said Japan first suggested a quadrilateral alliance with the US, India and Australia – now known as the “Quad” – as a defense strategy against China. He also pushed back on assertions that the former administration strained ties with Japan and other allies in the region. (…….)
“There’s a saying in the Japanese military: ‘Taiwan’s defense is Japan’s defense.’ And, and I think that Japan will act accordingly,” Pottinger added.
Korea Times
You can read more at the link.
Here is some apparent blowback on the WHO which could effect South Korea:
A group of senior U.S Congress members has asked Korea, among 55 countries, to support Taiwan joining the World Health Organization (WHO) despite China’s opposition.
Korea Times
Analysts said Friday this may test Korea again in its attempts to strike a balance between the U.S. and China, following the heightened Washington-Beijing standoff over the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can read more at the link, but I would be surprised if the Moon administration supports this. I would think they would try to filibuster the idea and wait for it to go away without having to make a decision on it.
The Chinese are busy making threats again in regards to their claims over Taiwan and almost the entire South China Sea:
China’s defense minister warned Sunday that its military will “resolutely take action” to defend Beijing’s claims over self-ruled Taiwan and disputed South China Sea waters.
Speaking at an annual security conference in Singapore, Gen. Wei Fenghe did not direct the threat at the U.S. but loaded his address with criticism of activities by Washington, including support for Taiwan and leading so-called freedom of navigation operations in the strategic waterways that China virtually claims as its own.
Wei said the People’s Liberation Army would not “yield a single inch of the country’s sacred land.”China’s ruling Communist Party maintains that Taiwan is part of China, and has used increasingly aggressive rhetoric toward the democratic island, which split from the mainland amid a civil war 70 years ago. It opposes Taiwan’s independence and formally says it seeks a “peaceful reunification” while refusing to rule out the use of force if necessary to achieve that goal.
Associated Press
“The PLA has no intention to cause anybody trouble but it is not afraid to face up to troubles. Should anybody risk crossing the bottom line, the PLA will resolutely take action and defeat all enemies,” Wei said.
You can read more at the link.
Six decades ago the US threatened to use tactical nukes to defend Taiwan’s status. Two decades ago they sent two carrier battle groups. Today, a destroyer and a coast guard cutter. What will they send a decade from now? Very little, I’d wager… https://t.co/kGY0PspGNI
— Brendan Taylor (@BrendanKTaylor) March 25, 2019
Taiwan is a responsible democracy that should have nuclear weapons to defend itself. https://t.co/qFsN1FR9xw
— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) February 10, 2019
Via a reader tip comes this bizarre story of an extremely obese American who flies on a Taiwanese airline in order to get the flight attendants to wipe his butt:
The obese American man who harassed and traumatized EVA Air flight attendants by ordering them to wipe him after defecating has, despite being banned, successfully booked more flights with the same airline.
According to Shanghaiist via Taiwan News, the unnamed man booked a two part flight with EVA Air for May 17, which would take him from Bangkok to Taipei and finally to Los Angeles. The man has reportedly booked over 20 flights with EVA in the past; in fact, this past incident was the second such incident recorded wherein the man bizarrely harassed flight attendants to wipe his butt after using the bathroom.
Next Shark
You can read more about his bizarre behavior at the link, which he seems to do to get some kind of sexual satisfaction from.
This incident with a British man is pretty good analogy for what would happen to Taiwan and other Southeast Asian nations if they try and take on China on the simmering territorial disputes in the region, expect to get bullied and beaten into submission by overwhelming numbers:
A group of Chinese men assaulted a British man who had the word “Taiwan” tattooed on his forehead for refusing to say “Taiwan is part of China.”
Paul Farrell, who has lived in Taiwan for 14 years, lost two teeth, received a fat lip and ended up with bruises all over his body after 10 Chinese men beat him during his holiday in the southern Cambodian city of Sihanoukville, the Taiwan News reported Sunday.
According to the report, he became embroiled in an argument with them after they tried to pick a fight over the tattoo at a bar.
One of them suddenly shouted “Taiwan-China!” In response, Farrell said, “Taiwan-Taiwan!” And then they “went insane, grabbed poles and started attacking me,” he said.
He said at least 10 Chinese men savagely assaulted him, forcing him to say “Taiwan is part of China,” as hundreds of bystanders watched the attack.
Fearing for his life, Farrell eventually said: “OK, you think Taiwan is China, I’ll say Taiwan is China. I just want to leave.” [Korea Times]
Unsurprisingly this is not the first time that Farrell has made headlines.
This is a pretty bold sexual assault to drug multiple women in the back of a taxi and then sexually assault them. I am willing to bet this is probably not the first time this taxi cab driver has done this:
Two South Korean women said they were sexually attacked by a taxi driver while traveling to a night market in Taipei, according to local reports and the Korean foreign ministry on Sunday.
According to the reports, three Korean women hired a taxi around 6 p.m. on Thursday to visit the popular Shilin Night Market. The taxi driver, identified only by his surname Chan, was said to have given them a soft drink while heading to the market. Two of them, sitting at the back, passed out after drinking it while the one who was sitting in the passenger seat didn’t drink it.
Upon arriving at the market, the sober woman tried to wake them up, to no avail, and went to check out the market alone, thinking the two fell asleep due to tiredness. She went back to the taxi around an hour later to find out they were still sleeping. The three then returned to the hotel.
The next day, the two reported to the local police that they were sexually assaulted by the taxi driver.
On Saturday night, the police summoned Chan for investigation. They soon detained him as the suspect partially admitted to the assault in his testimony. He is reported to have said he only meant to touch them.
Meanwhile, a blood test revealed that the victims had sleeping-inducing drugs in their blood.
“The Taiwanese police detained the suspect for investigation and are likely to charge him,” an official from the foreign ministry told Yonhap News Agency, adding that the women have returned to Korea. [Yonhap]
