Since the entirely contrived outrage coming out of Beijing over the comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the liberal mass media have been all aflutter about how "infuriated" she made Beijing — as if bilateral relations are entirely up to one party always appeasing the other.
Takaichi's comments on the potential impact on Japan's security if Beijing militarily attacked or imposed a naval blockade on Taiwan were measured, qualified and conditional on the facts at the time.
While most western media just echoed Beijing, Philip Shetler-Jones at the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank, observed in a commentary: “The most catastrophic scenario in Asia today would be one where a leader in Beijing who is insulated from sound advice becomes tempted to launch an attack on the mistaken assessment that Taiwan is isolated.” He concluded that “everyone supporting the maintenance of the status quo on Taiwan and peace in Asia should be glad to hear.”
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