Workshop on Taiwan Strait Crisis Held with British and French Think Tanks

On June 12 and June 14, 2024, the Security Studies Program of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) held half-day closed-door joint workshops with the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) and the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) each in London and Paris. The event was held as part of SPF’s “International Conference: Securing the Indo-Pacific Ⅲ” project. From Japan, headed by SPF’s Executive Director Nobukatsu Kanehara, a delegation of five experts including Ambassador Nobushige Takamizawa (SPF Senior Fellow) participated in each discussion. In the above-mentioned project, this has become the second workshop with RUSI since the SPF co-hosted the workshop in Tokyo in October 2023. With IFRI, this has become the first bilateral workshop after co-hosting a Japan-India-France trilateral conference in Singapore in February 2024.
 
The workshop was attended by RUSI and IFRI researchers, as well as British and French government and military officials, and a wide range of experts to discuss security issues in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly the Taiwan Strait crisis.
 
The workshop at RUSI, entitled as "Risks and Responses to the Taiwan Strait Crisis”, was kicked off by the keynote remarks by Nobukatsu Kanehara. He pointed out that the Taiwan Strait crisis would have a tremendous impact on the security and economy not only of the East Asian region but also of the international community as a whole. He stressed the importance of collective efforts to deter China’s aggression and the importance and necessity of cooperation among like-minded partners, including Japan, the United States, Europe, Australia, South Korea, and India. Discussions on Taiwan contingency scenarios and responses in the events followed, as well as consideration of ways in which Japan and the UK could support Taiwan and the importance of cooperation with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and other partner countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

The workshop at IFRI, entitled as "France-Japan Dialogue on East Asian security situation: Focus on the Taiwan Strait," consisted of two sessions on the Taiwan Strait crisis, with presentations by six panelists from Japan and France, as well as from the public and private sectors, and an exchange of views with participants.
 
In the first session, under the theme of "Bracing for Crisis in the Taiwan Strait: Risk Assessment and Stakeholder Perspectives," participants discussed scenarios of the Taiwan Strait crisis, as well as its spillover and impact on regions outside East Asia and the global economy. During the exchange of opinions, participants pointed out the importance of unity among like-minded partner countries, including Japan, the U.S., and Europe, as well as the importance of cooperation and support by countries in the South China Sea region and Pacific island countries. Participants from the private sector presented issues and concerns from the private sector perspective, such as multinational companies' response to the Taiwan Strait Crisis, and pointed out the importance of cooperation between the private and public sectors, including corporations, think tanks, and civil society.
 
In the second session, under the theme of "Crisis Prevention and Contingency Planning in the Taiwan Strait: Exploring Franco/European-Japanese Cooperation," the participants discussed the issues such as the direct and indirect impact of the Taiwan Strait crisis on the security of France and Europe, the possibility of international support for Taiwan, ASEAN, and other countries in the Indo-Pacific region, and the possibility of cooperation between Japan, France, and NATO in the cyber and space domains.
 
To wrap up the workshop, Nobukatsu Kanehara pointed out that the Taiwan Strait Crisis is not a local event and that it has serious implications for Western countries, including those in Europe, The workshop was concluded by pointing out that the crisis is not a local event, but one that will seriously affect Western countries, including Europe.