Takatoshi Ito, former Japanese Deputy Vice Minister of Finance and presently a professor at
the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a Senior Professor
at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, in an article in the Straits Times
(May 3), quoted former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent urging that the US should
end its policy of "strategic ambiguity" over Taiwan and make it crystal clear that it would
defend the island against any attempted Chinese invasion. He added that if the US does not
adopt Abe's proposal, which is likely, then only the prospect of US economic sanctions might
deter China from invading Taiwan. That is why the success of the current Western-led
economic and financial sanctions against Russia is vital. Such deterrence, he said, is crucial to
East Asia's stability. Stating that Japan also feels threatened by China, as armed Chinese coast
guard vessels regularly circle the Senkaku Islands and occasionally encroach on Japanese
territorial waters, Takatoshi Ito asked "what would the Japanese and US governments do if
China suddenly occupied the islands? He said the US, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan must
now focus on where to draw their red lines in East Asia, and effectively communicate these,
loudly or quietly, to Russia, North Korea, and China. Given the increasing tensions created by
these three powers, the necessary boundaries - and the price that will be paid if they are crossed
- must be made visible"
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