Ex-Japan army chief calls for arms sales to Taiwan, flags drone cooperation

Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force chief Kiyofumi Iwata urged Tokyo to include Taiwan among destinations eligible for arms sales, citing shared strategic interests. He also highlighted potential defence industry cooperation, particularly in drones, to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains.

Former chief of staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Kiyofumi Iwata yesterday called for Japan to include Taiwan among the destinations eligible for arms sales, speaking at a conference in Taipei hosted by the Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank.

Japan had abolished restrictions on arms sales, allowing it to provide weapons to 17 countries with which it has defence and technology agreements, a list that excludes Taiwan, Iwata told the Taiwan-Japan Future Technology Forum. Taiwan should be included in the future, he said, calling Japan and Taiwan an inseparable community with a shared destiny.

Iwata said the First Island Chain serves as a crucial breakwater preventing Chinese military expansion into the Western Pacific. He argued that if Taiwan fell under Chinese control, Chinese President Xi Jinping's "China dream" of dominance in the western Pacific would be realised, an outcome he said must be prevented at all costs. If Beijing used Taiwan as a springboard to push naval and aviation forces into the western Pacific, Japan would be forced to make major shifts in its security strategy, he added.

The Japanese government fully understands Taiwan's importance and is drawing up contingency plans for an emergency involving Taiwan, Iwata said. In March last year, the government drafted plans for evacuation drills in the event of a regional security emergency, involving about 120,000 people — approximately 110,000 residents of the Sakishima Islands and tourists — to Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture. A full-scale drill is scheduled for next month, he added.

Iwata identified drones as the most promising area for defence industry cooperation, particularly in dual-use technologies. The Japanese drone market is dominated by Chinese manufacturers, which account for about 90 per cent of the market, he called "a very serious problem." Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in December last year proposed establishing domestic production facilities capable of manufacturing 80,000 drones annually by 2030, including domestic production of key components and cooperation with countries such as Taiwan, he said.

In July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Global UAV Academy and the Japan Drone Consortium signed a letter of intent in Tokyo to cooperate on non-Chinese supply chains, certification and talent cultivation. Iwata said he hoped Japan and Taiwan could soon expand their drone cooperation to establish a production system capable of manufacturing tens of thousands of units, adding that the cooperation model could be applied to other sectors to serve their shared goal of reducing dependence on China.