Free Republic

TAIPEI--Suspicion is growing that Taiwan was used as a conduit for exporting products from Japan that can be used to develop weapons of mass destruction. The suspicion surfaced after a corruption case involving the customs office in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, came to light early this month. Because Taiwan does not belong to the United Nations, concern is growing that it is serving as a loophole in the international system that aims to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. On June 5, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office arrested seven officials of the Kaohsiung Customs office on suspicion of approving...

Japan has gone ahead and decided that airspace above Yonaguni island, the westernmost island in all of Japan, is indeed entirely Japan’s responsibility. That may sound like a no-brainer, but during the 1950s, the United States controlled Yonguni and the rest of the Ryukyu islands and decided to split control of the airspace with Taiwan. Taiwan is not happy. On June 26, Japan unilaterally extended the ADIZ [Air Defense Identification Zone--JSW] line westwards by 22 kilometers. As a result, Taiwanese and Japanese AIDZs now overlap. That Tokyo seems willing to put up with the prospect of doing damage to Taiwan-Japan...