［社説］岸田政権は外交・安保に本腰を入れよ
2021/11/419:05 [有料会員限定]
英グラスゴーでバイデン米大統領（右）と対面し、あいさつを交わす岸田首相=2日（内閣広報室提供）=共同
岸田文雄首相が英グラスゴーでの第26回国連気候変動枠組み条約締約国会議（COP26）の首脳級会合に出席し、本格的な外交デビューを果たした。短時間でも駆けつけた判断は評価できる。衆院選で固めた政権基盤を生かして外交・安全保障で指導力を発揮し、日本の存在感を高めてほしい。
演説でアジアなどの脱炭素の技術革新に最大100億ドル（約1兆1400億円）の追加支援を表明した。世界の排出を減らすうえで意味がある。2030年度に温暖化ガス排出量を13年度比46%減らし、さらに50%減の高みをめざすと明言して退路を断った。
首相に一息つく余裕はなかろう。日本周辺の安保環境は緊張が高まっている。中国が東・南シナ海で威圧的な行為を繰り返し、ロシア海軍の艦艇と共に日本列島をほぼ一周した。北朝鮮は多様な核・ミサイル開発目標を掲げ、ミサイル発射実験を重ねている。
日米同盟を基軸とする日本外交は米国との結びつきが抑止力や交渉力を左右する。首相はCOP26で英国やオーストラリアの首相らと相次いで会談し、バイデン米大統領とも初めて対面で言葉を交わした。「自由で開かれたインド太平洋」の実現に向けた連携を確認したのは着実な一歩である。
バイデン氏と合意した早期の訪米を通じて信頼関係を築き、米国と様々なレベルで緊密な調整を急がなければならない。
岸田氏は安倍内閣で長く外相を務め、十分な外交経験をもつ。その経験や人的資産を生かせるはずだ。外相と首脳では重みが異なるのも事実で、世界は首脳外交が脚光を浴びる機会が増えた。
とりわけ日米の連携や、中ロ、韓国などと懸案解決に向けて渡り合うには首脳間でしか果たせない役割がある。大所高所の理念をもって国益と地域の安定のために腰を据えて取り組むべきだ。
自民党は防衛費の大幅増額や「敵基地攻撃能力」の保有を訴えている。日本が戦後とってきた方針の転換につながりかねないとして与党内でも公明党は慎重だ。
日本を守るために何が効果的でどれを優先すべきなのかについて議論を深める必要がある。そのためにも外交・安保政策の基本方針である国家安全保障戦略の改定作業を加速させたい。
激変する安保環境の現実を見据え、日本の針路を国民にわかりやすく示すことが求められる。
Summary:
The Premier Kishida took part in the Summits of COP26 and made his debut in diplomacy in Glasgow, UK. He has fortified his political background by winning the General Election. He is expected to raise Japan’s presence by leading in diplomacy and national security.
In his speech, he made it clear that he added $100 million aids to accelerate technological innovation of decarbonization. It gets the emission decreased at a momentous pace. He makes it clear that Japan intends to decrease 46% in comparison to the rate of 2013 in 2030 and in addition, he wants to decrease 50% if possible.
Tension around Japan is rising. China has being demonstrating threatening military exercises and has navigated around Japan with Russian warships. The North Korea has repeatedly kept launching missiles’ tests. The Premier is expected to show a stern attitude against these hostile acts.
Mainland decides war or peace across Taiwan Straits: Global Times editorial
By Global Times
Published: Nov 04, 2021 09:50 PM
Two J-10 fighter jets attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Southern Theater Command soar into the air in formation during a combat flight training mission on November 17, 2020. Photo: eng.chinamil.com.cn
The situation across the Taiwan Straits is tense. As it is a complex interaction among three sides of China and the US, plus the island of Taiwan, uncertainties are prominent and misjudgment is more likely to occur. As a result, it has attracted increasing attention and speculation.
Whether a cross-Straits war is approaching or if some of the three sides' remarks and actions are related to war preparations, people's speculation and discussion are increasing. This applies to the Chinese mainland, as well as the island of Taiwan and the US.
On the one hand, Chinese mainland authorities have increasingly warned the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority. On the other hand, they still hold high the banner of peaceful reunification. Yet the voice of the people in the Chinese mainland calling for a war has become louder. The view of the US military and think tanks predicting that the PLA will launch military operation against Taiwan in the next few years has been repeatedly heard. The practices of Taiwan's DPP authority have been extremely flustered and contradictory. At one point, it said it will "fight to the end," and at another, it said nothing will happen during Tsai's term.
A fundamental danger is that the political conflicts across the Taiwan Straits are intensifying with no sign of easing. The DPP authority is opposed to reunification and is seeking "independence." The strategic hostility of the US toward the Chinese mainland continues to rise. No matter how to evaluate a war, predictions that a war will eventually occur due to irreconcilable political conflicts or miscalculation are growing among the three sides.
For Taiwan and the US, the most important thing is to remain sober and rational. Don't lead themselves into a political misunderstanding or even a dead end because of their bravado and short-term operations.
The DPP authority will never be able to withstand war, nor will people of Taiwan "fight to the end" with them, and they are very clear about this. They have acted arrogantly because they have been seeking near-term political interests. They are also betting that the mainland will not use force against Taiwan considering the country's overall development and strategic considerations. However, the end of their secessionist path will definitely be war. They have walked a tightrope near the red line drawn by the mainland, showing their recklessness. But they have been walking in fear.
The US wants to use the Taiwan question to contain China's rise as much as possible. But by doing so, the boundary of their interests is that they cannot trigger a war across the Taiwan Straits, involving themselves in a life-and-death struggle with the Chinese mainland. In the past, they performed wantonly inside a wide safe range. But as the situation in the Taiwan Straits escalates, they are worried that they are getting closer to the center of the war storm which they cannot escape from.
The most important thing for the Chinese mainland is to maintain its strategic focus, adhere to our principles and the pace of advancing the goal of reunification, and accurately determine the reunification method and timing which is most conductive to China's overall national interests. We should not be disturbed by the complex signals and performances of Taiwan and the US.
This is because the Chinese mainland's strength in dealing with the Taiwan question is increasing rapidly and the Chinese mainland has the strategic initiative and ultimate decision on how to solve the Taiwan question. The ultimate decision of whether to wage a cross-Straits war, what the scale of the war will be, and how and when to fight is in our hands. The DPP authority has repeatedly provoked, but their ultimate goal is to avoid war. Their short-term maneuvers are aimed at sustaining their regime, to consolidate domestic support and to mobilize international pressure on the Chinese mainland to increase protection for Taiwan.
The purpose of the US' various acts is to enhance the strategic effectiveness of its "Taiwan card." For this reason, it has to play the card hard while preventing the card from becoming its own trap. The stronger the Chinese mainland's military pressure is, the more the US should turn to public opinion and a diplomatic struggle, and avoid confronting the Chinese mainland militarily in the Taiwan Straits.
Tensions in the Taiwan Straits will create many factors for misjudgment. But because the mainland is proactive and confident, it should be more capable to see the whole picture than Taiwan and the US. The DPP authority is the most anxious. The US will worry more about its gains and losses, and the Chinese mainland can completely act according to its own interests. What we need to do is to trust the government and the Communist Party of China Central Committee. We will not hastily start a war. But once the situation reaches that point, we will definitely win the battle.