A senior defense policymaker from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party said the flight of suspected Chinese surveillance balloons showed Japan and Taiwan needed to share “significant” intelligence about potential common aerial threats.
“We don’t have bilateral relations with Taiwan, so we don’t cooperate on that, but the Japanese government will have to consider what it does next,” said Itsunori Onodera, a former defense minister and an influential figure in the ruling party. MP, said in an interview.
Japan’s islands are within 100 kilometers (62 mi) of Taiwan, so their aircraft and ships often operate in close proximity.
Although Japan does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it worries that China will threaten Japanese national security if Beijing gains control of the self-governing island.
Onodera said one way Japan could share information with Taiwan could be through its close ally the United States, who said he visited Taiwan in January, where he was informed about the threats posed by China to the island. The information was given.
Japan said on Tuesday it suspected Chinese spy balloons had flown over Japan at least three times, most recently in 2021.