As Sanae Takaichi, the Japanese prime minister, signaled a possible "intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency," tensions are escalating between China and Japan, while the U.S. government is expressing support for Prime Minister Takaichi and Taiwan.
On the 20th (local time), Tomi Piggott, principal deputy spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, said on his social media (SNS), "Our commitment to the U.S.-Japan alliance and the defense of Japan, including the Senkaku Islands administered by Japan, is ironclad," adding, "We firmly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, or the South China Sea."
The phrase "opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo" is a formulation the United States commonly uses as a message to check China. On the 14th, this phrase was also included in the fact sheet the leaders of Korea and the United States released jointly.
Earlier, Prime Minister Takaichi said, "If China mounts a military attack on Taiwan, it could constitute a 'survival-threatening situation' for (Japan)," and relations between China and Japan rapidly froze as a result. This means Japan could exercise the right of collective self-defense even if it is not directly attacked, and the Chinese government, enraged by this, is making retaliation a reality, including advising against travel to Japan.
The U.S. government is taking concrete steps beyond simple remarks. For example, on the 18th, the U.S. Senate passed the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act without disagreement and is awaiting President Trump's signature. The core of the law is to allow the Department of State to engage with Taiwan without restrictions.
The U.S. Department of Defense also approved on the 13th the sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts worth $330 million (about 486.7 billion won). Then on the 17th, the Department of Defense disclosed that it had contracted with defense contractor RTX to sell to Taiwan equipment worth $698.94 million (about 1.031 trillion won) related to NASAMS, an advanced U.S.-made surface-to-air missile system.
Experts view the approval of arms sales to Taiwan as an important political statement, seeing it as evidence that the U.S. government places a high priority on Taiwan's security.
Shi Yinhong, a professor in the Department of International Relations at Renmin University, noted that during President Trump's visit to Japan last month, the U.S. and Japanese leaders boarded a U.S. aircraft carrier together, emphasizing that "the upgrade of the U.S.-Japan military alliance is already a fait accompli."