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 ¡ª 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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