Beijing is moping about the fact that the Republic of China has asked Japan and the Philippines to take its own territorial rights into account when they meet to discuss the boundaries of their exclusive economic zones.
Countries in the region often disagree about their exact maritime or EEZ limits. But these disagreements tend not to get as much attention as those in which one of the parties is the People’s Republic of China. The People’s Republic routinely makes ludicrous claims about what its maritime rights consist of; for example, it contends that some 90 percent of the South China Sea belongs to itself, including waters almost lapping the shores of other countries. It also routinely presses these ludicrous claims via the “diplomacy” or anti-diplomacy of physically harassing ships, soldiers, and fishermen.
Then there’s the PRC’s longtime ludicrous pretense that the ROC has no independent existence and—being only a part of the mainland in the PRC’s fantasy—has no right to diplomatically interact with other countries.
So “China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has condemned the move [Taipei’s move of asking Japan and the Philippines “Don’t forget about us!”] and this week sent coast guard ships off Taiwan’s east coast in response, drawing an angry reaction from Taipei” (Reuters, June 3, 2026).
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said its representative offices in Japan and the Philippines would seek confirmation that the negotiation process and outcomes of any future agreements “will not affect the sovereign rights Taiwan enjoys under international law”…
Asked about Taiwan’s concerns, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said earlier on Wednesday that if Japan and the Philippines agree on the maritime boundaries it “would not be legally binding on third parties”.
The Philippines’ foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry added that China had no right to claim to speak on its behalf over the maritime boundary issue.
Taipei has no worries about Japan and the Philippines that don’t shrink into insignificance when compared to what it faces across the Taiwan Strait. All three are targets of Beijing’s bullying and must be concerned about what it will do next. All three are militarily cooperating with each other in various ways. Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has openly said that Japan would be justified, as a matter of its own self-defense, in helping Taiwan to defend itself if the People’s Liberation Army invades the island.
Also see:
Think China: “Why the Philippines and Japan are preparing for a Taiwan contingency”
BBC: “Japan to deploy missiles on island near Taiwan by 2031”
Associated Press: “Japan and the Philippines Sign New Defense Pact as They Face Growing China Aggression”
The Washington Post: “The Philippines is quietly working with Taiwan to counter China”
