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【#1410】Learn from Taiwan’s Resolve to Defend Itself

Kiyofumi Iwata ／ 2026.10.22 (Thu)


October 19, 2026

　
“As China’s economic coercion intensifies, Japan and Taiwan should jointly build ‘reliable supply chains’ in the field of dual-use components.” As the author made this proposal at the Japan-Taiwan Future Technology Forum in Taipei co-hosted by Taiwan’s Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank and the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals on October 11, the audience supported it. Major Taiwanese media outlets, including the Central News Agency and the Liberty Times, reported the proposal. When our delegation paid a courtesy call on Taiwanese President Lai Chingte the next day, he expressed support for the proposal and spoke of Taiwan’s determination to defend itself on its own. Japan should share this resolve.

Beijing targets Japan’s China-dependent supply chains

Japan and Taiwan share destiny across three dimensions: security, economy, and emotional bonds. In January, China banned the export of dual-use items to end users deemed to contribute to the enhancement of Japan’s military capabilities, targeting Japanese supply chains, including rare earths that had been added to its export control list since last year. The export ban is seen as a response to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remark regarding a Taiwan contingency. Supply chains dependent on China are themselves a security weakness.

Therefore, the author proposed Japan-Taiwan cooperation in the field of dual-use components, which are less likely to be politicized and can be transferred to Taiwan, rather than weapons themselves. At the core of the cooperation will be drones. While Japan depends on Chinese products for about 90% of its domestic drone market, Taiwan is rapidly expanding drone exports in the name of “non-red supply chain” (a supply chain separated from China). The establishment of a framework that combines Japanese parts and materials with Taiwan’s manufacturing capabilities to enable speedier mutual trade will serve as a deterrent against China.

National defense Determination: premise for international cooperation

President Lai, who had apparently read not only media reports on the forum but also a JINF paper titled “Taiwan’s Strategic Importance,” agreed with the paper’s argument that maintaining Taiwan’s status quo is in Japan’s national interest. Furthermore, he said that China’s objective is not merely the unification of Taiwan, but ultimately for a Communist Party-led China to become the leader of the international community and reshape the global order. He also noted that if Taiwan were absorbed by China, Japan and other Indo-Pacific countries might be targeted one after another.

In addition, Lai made clear Taiwan’s determination to maintain an unwavering stance against China’s coercion and defend itself on its own without shifting its heavy self-defense responsibility to Japan or the United States.

Cooperation with allies and partners is indispensable. Ultimately, however, what defends a nation is its own will and power. The Japanese people should take these words of Taiwan’s leader to heart. Only if Japan stops being complacent about the U.S. alliance and resolves to defend itself through its own strength can the cooperation between Japan and the United States and between Japan and Taiwan become truly solid.

Kiyofumi Iwata is Vice President of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals. Formerly, he served as Chief of Staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.