TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — For the first time since tensions flared between China and Japan, the US State Department on Friday voiced support for Tokyo as it pushed back against Beijing’s escalating retaliation over Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s recent remarks on Taiwan.
State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on X that Washington’s commitment to the US–Japan alliance and Japan’s defense remains unwavering, including with respect to the Diaoyutai Islands, CNA. He said the alliance is the cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.
Pigott added that the US “firmly opposes any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, including through force or coercion, in the Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, or South China Sea.” His comments marked the department’s first direct reference to the alliance or Japan’s defense since the dispute began.
Earlier responses to media inquiries reiterated US opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo and support for peaceful cross-strait dialogue, per CNA. They stressed that cross-strait differences should be resolved without coercion and in a manner acceptable to people on both sides.
US Ambassador to Japan George Glass has meanwhile repeatedly backed Tokyo. On Nov. 10, he criticized China’s Consul General in Osaka, Xue Jian, for implying a threat to decapitate Takaichi.
“Coercion is a hard habit to break for Beijing,” he said on X. “But just as the United States stood by Japan during China’s last unwarranted ban on Japanese seafood, we will be there for our ally again this time.”
After meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Thursday, Glass said, “This is a classic case of Chinese economic coercion, and I just want to say directly from the president and from myself and from the embassy for the Prime Minister, we have her back," per Bloomberg.
Takaichi warned that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could be considered a situation threatening Japan’s survival, potentially triggering a military response from Tokyo. Her remarks drew strong protest from China, which has urged citizens to avoid travel to Japan and halted plans to resume Japanese seafood imports.
China has reportedly also blocked the release of six Japanese films and suspended approval of new movie screenings.
