NEW YORK -- On Feb. 19, Japan and the United States issued a joint statement that maintaining peace and security in the Taiwan Strait is a common strategic objective. This was nothing extraordinary except for the fact that Japan, for the first time, joined the U.S. in voicing public concern about China's military buildup in the area and about growing tension between China and Taiwan.
After establishing diplomatic relations with China in 1972, Japan began pursuing a policy of good will, emphasizing long historic and cultural ties. It has provided tens of billions of dollars in government economic development aid since 1979, contributing greatly to China's rapid economic growth. In doing so, it has patiently endured ungrateful China's repeated calls on Japan to apologize for past invasions, and to remember history, revise history textbooks, deny tourist visas to former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui and demand that Japanese prime ministers stop visiting the Yasukuni Shrine.
Tokyo woke up to China's military threat in 1995 and 1996 when China test-fired ballistic missiles over the Taiwan Strait. It has continued what some critics have charged is "a spineless policy toward Beijing," expressing its concern only in vague declarations and laws.