Beijing’s move this week to add 20 more Japanese entities to its export-control list is the latest chapter in a complex US-Japan-China geopolitical triangle.
Over the past seven months, an angry China has punished Tokyo repeatedly. A miffed Japan is left feeling betrayed. And a war-distracted Washington has struggled to navigate between the two, adding further tension in a region already on tenterhooks, according to analysts and former US government officials.
The gnawing unease was sparked in November when then-newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi characterised any attack on Taiwan by Beijing as an “existential crisis” that could draw Japan in, prompting it to intervene militarily.
“If it involves the use of warships and military actions, it could by all means become a survival-threatening situation,” the hardline politician told Japanese lawmakers in November, refusing to back down.
While Beijing’s angry response involving a core “red line” was predictable, perhaps less so was the seam it opened between Washington and Tokyo amid tepid support from Washington and little willingness to stand up for its treaty ally.
Analysts said this is as much about US President Donald Trump’s personality and world view as it is US strategic calculations.
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Why have Takaichi’s Taiwan comments sent China-Japan ties into a tailspin?
