Japan’s representative office in Taiwan will likely be staffed with an active-duty defense attache for the first time beginning this summer, amid China’s rising military activities near Taiwan, according to a Japanese media report.

The government of Japan has been considering having an incumbent official with Japan’s Ministry of Defense stationed at Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA), Japan’s de facto embassy in Taiwan, Sankei Shimbun reported on Saturday.

Since the post as head of security department at the JTEA was established in 2003, Japan’s practice has been to send a retired military officer, usually at the rank of a major-general, to serve as the unofficial military liaison officer, the report said.

The significant increase in China’s military exercises and “incursions” around Taiwan over the past few years has prompted calls for Japan to appoint an active-duty defense attache to Taipei so as to enhance intelligence capability and facilitate communications with Taiwan, it said.

Due to concerns that sending an active-duty defense attache to Taipei might draw ire from China, however, the candidate would be a civil servant at the Ministry of Defense rather than a military official, according to Sankei Shimbun.

Asked by CNA to verify the news on Saturday, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Ministry Of National Defense (MND) both declined to comment.

MOFA deputy spokesperson Tsuei Ching-lin (???) said the ministry had no comment on the internal matters of the government of Japan, adding that Taiwan is thankful to Japan for highlighting the importance of peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait on various international occasions.

MND said that it welcomes all military exchange activities that can help enhance regional peace and stability.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel