Taipei — Taiwan is exploring closer strategic coordination with Japan to counter escalating Chinese pressure across the Indo-Pacific, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen told lawmakers, according to local reporting. The move follows Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s updated Indo-Pacific strategy, which emphasizes maritime security, supply-chain resilience and technological cooperation.
In a closed session of Taiwan’s legislative Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Tsai said Taipei and Tokyo are weighing joint initiatives in three priority areas: protection of undersea internet cables, responses to China’s “gray zone” maritime tactics, and expanded cooperation on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Both democracies depend heavily on submarine communications infrastructure and share concerns about the vulnerability of such systems to sabotage or interference.
The Japanese framework unveiled by Takaichi highlights strengthening critical energy and mineral supply chains needed for an AI-driven economy while deepening regional security partnerships. Taiwanese officials say Japan has shown particular interest in Taiwan’s handling of disruptions to telecom networks and maritime infrastructure that Taipei attributes to China-linked activity.
Tsai added that intelligence sharing between Taiwan and Japan is already helping both sides detect and respond to coercive operations that fall below the level of open warfare but seek to extend influence over regional waters. These gray-zone pressures, Taiwanese officials say, increasingly target civilian and commercial systems as well as military assets.
Democratic Progressive Party legislator Chiu Chih-wei urged Taipei to more closely align with Tokyo’s revised Free and Open Indo-Pacific approach and to broaden cooperation with partners such as South Korea to bolster energy security and critical supply chains. Chiu also recommended Taiwan press for stronger Japanese support for its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
This report is based on syndicated reporting as published and is presented here for informational purposes.
