Japan PM warns ‘today’s Ukraine could be tomorrow’s East Asia’

TOKYO: Japan´s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba warned in his first policy speech on Friday that “today´s Ukraine could be tomorrow´s East Asia”, saying that the world is becoming ever more divided.

The 67-year-old former defence minister, who took office this week, also dubbed the country´s low birth rate a “quiet emergency”.

Ishiba made no direct reference to China, but Japan´s relations with its neighbour have deteriorated in recent years as Beijing asserts its military presence around disputed territories in the region.

For Japan, the United States and other allies, China´s claims over democratic Taiwan are of particular concern. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.

“Many fear that today´s Ukraine could be tomorrow´s East Asia. Why did deterrence not work in Ukraine?” Ishiba told parliament.

“Combined with the situation in the Middle East, the international community is becoming increasingly divided and confrontational.”

Japan has also irked China with plans for a major increase in defence spending and by boosting security ties with the United States and other allies including the Philippines and South Korea.

In August, a Chinese military aircraft staged the first confirmed incursion by China into Japanese airspace, followed weeks later by a Japanese warship sailing through the Taiwan Strait for the first time.