Japan’s instrumentalisation of Taiwan for its security and power-political relations vis-à-vis the PRC in international society

This thesis investigates Japan’s utilisation of Taiwan as a foreign policy instrument for
its security vis-à-vis the PRC. It considers the non-recognition and sanctioning of
Taiwan within international society and examines how Japan incrementally treats
Taiwan as if it is a part of international security efforts despite its non-recognition of
the latter in its efforts to navigate its One-China policy. Therefore, Japan–Taiwan
relations can be regarded as largely hierarchical. Chapter 1 discusses Japan One China
policy and Taiwan, and how these frameworks condition Japan’s engagement with
Taiwan in the context of the former’s One China policy. This relationship requires the
innovative theoretical approach that turns to the English School of International
Relations, wherein Japan is the central protagonist in the grand narrative, which gives
Japan an opportunity to be the regional accommodator of the marginal entity like
Taiwan in international society. Chapter 2 then focuses on the English School of
International Relations and discusses how Japan has been narrated as a good student of
Eurocentric international society, while also examining how the non-sovereign political
communities have been engaged by the great Eurocentric great powers. These attempts
elucidate how Japan’s accommodation of Taiwan into international society has not
received the scholastic attention it deserves. Chapter 3 then engages with the literature
on Japan–Taiwan relations, focusing on Japan’s foreign policy instruments to elucidate
how the nation determines the boundaries of an acceptable Japan–Taiwan security
cooperation while pacifying the PRC. Here, we conceptualise how Japan socialises
Taiwan through international security norms as if it is a member of the multilateral
security forums without affording it formal membership. Chapter 4 then examines how
Taiwan fits into the Japanese concept of CSD and assesses what Japan is willing to do
in terms of the Japan–Taiwan security cooperation while providing Taiwan with
deterrence against the PRC. Chapter 5 focuses on the ICAO to assess what Japan can
do to ensure Taiwan behaves as if it is a member of the ICAO in view of Japan’s security.
Chapter 6 then uses the Japan–Taiwan fisheries agreement to examine how Japan made
Taiwan a quasi-equal stakeholder on a par with both Japan and the PRC while dividing
the potential cross-strait united front against Japan. It also examines the normative
dynamics behind the enhancement of conflict alleviation despite the tensions between
the nations with reference to the ESIR perspectives. Taking these empirical
investigations into account, the conclusion considers the importance of further research
on Japan’s accommodation of ‘internationally ostracised entities’ within international
society in terms of the ESIR paradigm.