- China escalates Japan feud with travel warning, military drills
- Japanese forces in Philippines for first time since WWII
- Trump approves first Taiwan arms sale of second term
The diplomatic spat between China and Japan — which spiked after China’s consul general in Osaka posted a provocative message on X threatening to decapitate Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae — has continued to escalate. The new Japanese leader was responding to an opposition lawmaker when she suggested that a Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) attack on Taiwan could provoke a military response from Tokyo. Since then, Beijing has issued a travel warning to its citizens and conducted live-fire drills near Japan. Meanwhile, Japan’s Self-Defense Force have deployed to Philippines for the first time since World War II, following a reciprocal access agreement that went into effect in September. Is Beijing's “wolf warrior” diplomacy on the rise again? And what does the Trump Administration’s approval of new arms sales to Taiwan — the first of his second term — mean for the region? In this episode, we discuss the latest developments in Beijing-Tokyo relations, the new Japan-Philippines military agreement and the status of Taipei-Washington ties under Trump 2.0.
*Recorded on November 19, 2025 at 11:00am Taiwan Standard Time
Host: Wen-Ti Sung
Producer: Chinyeh Chiang
Our guests:
Wenchi Yu
- Harvard Kennedy School Fellow
- Former Obama-Administration State Department Official
Raymond Sung
- Prospect Foundation Vice President
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