European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell (L) and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya exchange instruments of ratification of the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) in Tokyo on Nov 1, 2024. [Photo/VCG]
The Japan-EU security and defense partnership agreement that Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell jointly released on Friday makes it clear that the EU is trying to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, and Japan is doing what it can to play a bigger role in both political and economic spheres in not just Asia but also globally.
Although there is no mention of China in the Japan-EU agreement, both Borrell and Iwaya, during their meeting, reportedly said they were concerned over the situations in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and strongly oppose any attempt to change the status quo in the region by force or coercion, which would further raise tensions undermining regional stability and the rules-based world order. The two also expressed their concerns over the situation in the Taiwan Strait, saying peace and stability across the Strait are of strategic importance for regional and global security.
The first security and defense partnership agreement the EU has signed with a country in the Asia-Pacific region is nothing but a ploy to meddle in the regional affairs and push forward the United States' China-containment strategy.
It is clear that the so-called Japan-EU partnership is closely related to the resolution the European Parliament adopted on the Taiwan island's status two weeks ago, accusing Beijing of deliberately misinterpreting UN Resolution 2758. In reality, the European Parliament's resolution is not only a gross misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758 but also a blatant interference in China's internal affairs.
Why should Japan and the EU express concern over the situation in the Strait when cross-Strait affairs are China's internal matter. The Taiwan question brooks no interference, not from Japan, not from the EU, not from the US. Beijing has the will and wherewithal to resolve the Taiwan question when it deems fit.
That the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of China, and Taiwan is an integral part of China is recognized by the entire world, including the EU and the US, and therefore it has the right to choose any method it likes to reunite Taiwan with the motherland.
As for the situations in the East China and South China seas, the EU has nothing to do with it, and its involvement will not help settle the maritime disputes between China and some of its neighbors; instead, it will make the situation more complicated.
No country has the right to question China on the Taiwan question — definitely not Japan, which occupied Taiwan for 50 years, and committed untold atrocities on Taiwan residents before and during World War II. Japan's brutal occupation of the island ended only after it surrendered to the Allied forces in 1945.
China has the right to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and no country should expect it to compromise on them when trying to resolve the maritime disputes with its neighbors. But that does not mean China will use force to coerce its neighbors to accept its conditions to settle the disputes.
Beijing has been reiterating that the Chinese mainland will try all means possible to peacefully reunite Taiwan with the motherland, failing which it reserves the right to use force to achieve national reunification.
The fact that the maritime disputes between China and its neighbors have not in the least affected the cooperation in other fields speaks volumes about China's sincerity in improving relations with countries in the region and its efforts in maintaining peace in the region.
EU-Japan security cooperation should not be used as an excuse by Brussels to poke its nose in the affairs of Asia or by Japan to overexert itself on regional affairs.
Beijing will do whatever it can to maintain peace and stability in the region, and prevent non-regional players from meddling in regional affairs, and external forces from interfering in China's internal affairs.
