FT: US demands Japan, Australia explain their roles in case of war over Taiwan

The Pentagon is pressing Japan and Australia to make clear what role they will play if the United States and China go to war over Taiwan, a move that has disappointed Washington's two most important allies in the Indo-Pacific. This was reported by the newspaper Financial Times, citing five unnamed interlocutors with knowledge of the matter.

In recent months, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Albright Colby has raised this topic at meetings with representatives of the defense ministries of Australia and Japan.

This initiative is his latest attempt to convince US allies in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen deterrence and prepare for a potential war over Taiwan.

After the FT article, Colby wrote on social network X that the Pentagon was implementing US President Donald Trump's agenda to "restore deterrence and achieve peace through strength." He said this includes "calls for allies to increase their defense spending and other efforts related to our collective defense".

A Pentagon official said that the "main theme" of the talks with allies was to "reinvigorate and accelerate efforts to strengthen deterrence in a balanced and equitable way".

"We do not seek war. Nor do we seek to dominate China itself. We are ensuring that the United States and its allies have the military power to enforce diplomacy and guarantee peace," he added.

The talks include efforts to persuade allies to increase defense spending amid concerns about the Chinese threat to Taiwan. But the request for commitments related to the war over the island is a new demand from the U.S .

"Specific operational plans and exercises are underway with Japan and Australia that are directly related to the situation in Taiwan. However, this request took Tokyo and Canberra by surprise, as the United States itself does not give Taiwan full responsibility guarantees," said one of the interlocutors .

The push was directed at Japanese and Australian defense officials, not senior officials. One source said that representatives of Japan, Australia and other US allies were "collectively surprised".

The Japanese Ministry of Defense told the FT that "it is difficult to answer the hypothetical question about the emergency in Taiwan". The ministry added that any response "will be made on an individual and specific basis in accordance with the constitution, international law and domestic law".

The Australian Embassy in the United States did not respond to a request for comment.

The article says that the debate over Taiwan comes amid pressure from Trump on Tokyo and Canberra to increase defense spending, which Colby's allies believe is essential given the growing threat from China in the Indo-Pacific.

"We're reaching out to our allies in the Indo-Pacific, very much like the president has done in Europe, and saying this is a threat environment. Obviously, some of these conversations are difficult, particularly around defense spending. But we think it will make things better for all of us," said one U.S. official.

He added that the White House is confident that Japan and Australia will increase defense spending faster than their European allies did.

• In March, China staged military exercises near Taiwan and called them "punishment for separatism." Beijing conducts such actions on a regular basis.
• On May 26, the FT wrote that China has bolstered its ability to a potential attack on Taiwan with faster air operations, new artillery systems and more capable amphibious units.