Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in an interview that the United States will intervene if the People's Liberation Army takes over Taiwan by force, while claiming that Japan and South Korea will not stand idly by. As soon as he finished speaking, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Milley quickly expressed his intention to cool down the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
The United States is a magical country. Not only are its words and deeds often inconsistent, but its words are always contradictory. Recently, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters: "If the People's Liberation Army chooses to use force to regain Taiwan, the United States will intervene, and South Korea and Japan will also have to join the ranks of intervention." Esper claimed that if The United States is involved in the situation in the Taiwan Strait. It is difficult to imagine a situation where Japan and South Korea do not intervene in any way. Not only that, Esper also believes that the reunification of mainland China will affect all countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Such remarks are not ridiculous in today's eyes. A retired US defense secretary openly used the Taiwan issue to stir up trouble and interfere in China's internal affairs. He also wanted to drag down his allies in Asia. I really don't know what the Japanese and South Korean governments will do if they hear what Esper said. "High opinion", what should I feel in my heart.
Speaking of which, these two close neighbors of China are also allies of the United States, but they also show a certain degree of difference in their relations with China. Let’s talk about Japan first. Not long ago, Japan’s right-wing leader and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was accidentally assassinated. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party won a majority of seats in the Senate election. This also marked the rise of right-wing forces in Japan. Even without this incident, after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came to power, whether he claimed to resolutely resolve the "Diaoyu Islands dispute" with China, he continued to "reverse" on historical issues, paid homage to the Yasukuni Shrine, and refused to recognize Japanese militarism. The crimes it has committed against Asian countries, as well as its public announcement of intervention in the Taiwan issue and other words and deeds towards China, can be seen that Japan's toughness against China is an established fact. Regarding Japan's "dangerous trends", we must maintain a high degree of vigilance, and at the same time, we must make response plans and respond strongly when necessary.
Let’s look at South Korea. Originally, after the two administrations of Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in , China-South Korea relations have eased, and economic and trade exchanges between the two countries have continued to close. At the same time, South Korea has also cooperated with South Korea on issues such as the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) that may cause disputes. China has reached a certain unspoken "tacit understanding". However, all this gradually came to an end with the coming to power of Yin Xiyue who clearly held a pro-American stance. In the more than two months since South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue came to power, he not only actively expressed his sincerity to the United States, but also expressed his obvious tendency to "leave Asia and join Europe". He seemed to want to lead the entire country towards the Western camp and become a good friend of the West. friend. Last month, while being invited to attend the NATO summit, Yin Xiyue ordered the deployment of the THAAD system . Various signs indicate that South Korea is very likely to turn against China in the future. However, we cannot make a firm judgment before things happen. After all, there is a pair of contradictions that have always been faced by South Korea when it comes to handling Sino-US relations.
On the one hand, South Korea needs to rely on the power of the United States politically and militarily so that it can be more confident when confronting North Korea; on the other hand, South Korea relies heavily on China in the economic and cultural fields, especially China-South Korea trade. The smooth operation of relations is something that South Korea must never give up. From this point of view, it is not easy for the Yin Xiyue government to be caught between China and the United States. Whichever one it offends will mean paying a serious price for South Korea.
Therefore, Esper’s statement may not be credible. It remains to be seen whether Japan and South Korea have the subjective willingness to intervene in the situation in the Taiwan Strait and whether they have the objective ability to echo the United States or show their ambitions.However, the U.S. itself quickly reacted. Shortly after Esper's "big talk," Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, publicly stated that "mainland's attack on Taiwan" is only a possibility, not an inevitable thing. The United States should not be overly concerned. The United States' rare positive statement to cool down the situation in the Taiwan Strait is actually based on its own interests. Recently, the United States is preparing to make a decision to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods. Appropriately being soft on China now is actually serving the policies that the United States will announce soon. We should also temporarily relax while not being overly optimistic. After all, words can be "softly spoken". The key depends on the actions of the United States.
