Taiwan invasion would threaten Japan, Shinzo Abe tells China

Ex-PM’s warning comes as nuclear submarine makes ‘show of strength’ in Strait
Shinzo Abe meeting President Xi in Beijing when he was prime minister in 2014. His party’s attitude towards China has hardened
Shinzo Abe meeting President Xi in Beijing when he was prime minister in 2014. His party’s attitude towards China has hardened
KIM KYUNG-HOON-POOL/GETTY IMAGES

Japan would treat a Chinese invasion of Taiwan as a crisis for its own security, the country’s former prime minister said in the latest indication that Tokyo would take part in any armed defence of the self-governed island.

Shinzo Abe, who stepped down last year but remains an influential power broker in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was speaking as a Chinese nuclear submarine made a rare surface transit of the Taiwan Strait in what appears to be a show of strength. Abe used an online speech to a Taiwanese think tank to send a direct warning to President Xi of China.

“Any armed invasion of Taiwan would present a serious threat to Japan,” he told the Institute for National Policy Research. “A Taiwan