A war in the Taiwan Strait would destroy China's international relations overnight. It would destroy Chinese - Japanese relations, not to mention Chinese - American relations.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Taiwan and China are related ethnically and close neighbors geographically. There's no reason to resent or to fight against each other.
But if the Chinese mainland, the PRC, attacked Taiwan, we'd be obligated to come to their aid.
Ultimately, China may use force to push for unification with Taiwan, a scenario we all must work to prevent.
As I've said many times and publicly, a war between China and Taiwan that involves the United States is a lose-lose-lose.
That's the reason some schools of thinking don't rule out a destruction of the Chinese military potential before the situation grows worse than it is today. It's bad enough now.
China is a major power in the Pacific and I think we are dealing with some common threats in that region: the whole issue of Korea and the stability of Korea, the whole issue of nuclear proliferation, the whole issue of providing free access to our ships that are operating in that area.
Nothing and no one can destroy the Chinese people. They are relentless survivors.
I don't share the view that China and the U.S. need to reach some kind of strategic accommodation to carve up the Asia-Pacific region - that is an arrogant proposition and deeply insulting to other countries in the region, including Japan and potentially also India and Indonesia.
China has become a major presence for most countries around the world but notably for its neighboring countries in Asia. So I think it is a common position for Japan and its Asian neighbors that we certainly would strive to maintain as much as possible friendly relations with China.
There is a great deal of concern in the Chinese military that Taiwan's reunification with China is drifting further and further away.
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