The use of both international lawfare and historical narrative warfare signals a major, under-recognized shift in China’s Taiwan strategy and its approach to Japan.

The United States and Japan’s vague, ahistorical version of the “one China” policy is inflaming tensions with Beijing.

The People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) have a difficult history. To put it mildly. The seeds of this acrimony were sown long before the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. To Beijing, Taiwan is a part of China that needs to ...

Armored vehicles mobilize during a live-ammunition drill in Taiwan on July 14, 2025. Story This is how the war will start. During a highly charged presidential campaign, a bomb explodes, unleashing panic and a wave of recriminations. Then a Chinese Y-8 ...

Quick question: What anniversary is celebrated on October 25? If you know the answer, congratulations; not many do. It is in fact the end of Japan’s 50-year rule over Taiwan in 1945. At the time, the Republic of China (ROC) was under the impression that ...

As Imperial Japanese soldiers scour the streets, a group of civilians in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing seek refuge in a small photography studio. Developing photographs taken throughout the city, they uncover evidence of the horrific war crimes being ...

When asked on November 28 whether this meant Japan does not recognize China’s sovereignty over Taiwan, Motegi reiterated what’s stated in the “Treaty of San Francisco” and said Japan’s basic position “is as stated in the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, and nothing more and nothing less.”

In recent years, many in Washington have focused on deterring China from invading Taiwan. Before taking office earlier this year, Elbridge Colby, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, asserted that Taiwan should be “laser focusing on ...

In a world beset by conflict in the Middle East and an enduring war in Ukraine, tensions are again heating up in East Asia. Will cooler heads prevail?

World War II narratives, up for grabs. In September, China held a military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Cannon fire, fighter jets, missil

This article appeared in History of War magazine issue 151. On 2 September 1945, Japanese forces officially surrendered to the Republic of China, ending the brutal occupation which began in 1937. Since the end of the subsequent Chinese Civil War, this ...