Japan's gamble on US risk to regional stability

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's latest Taiwan-related remarks demonstrate that Tokyo is more than happy to continue to serve as a pawn of the United States so that it can garner some strategic gains for itself.

To show Tokyo's allegiance to Washington and endorse the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the Chinese island, Kishida pointed an accusing finger at China during Friday's breakfast meeting with US politicians, calling China's missile drills a "serious problem that impacts our national security and the safety of our citizens" and said that Japan and the US will "jointly work to ensure peace and stability" in the Taiwan Straits.

The G7, of which Japan is a member, issued a similarly worded statement on Wednesday, accusing Beijing of escalating tensions across the Taiwan Straits and urging it to stop the People's Liberation Army's military exercises being staged around Taiwan. This was followed by a similar statement from Australia, the US and Japan on Friday.