Media reports claim that Japan has been sharing “key intelligence” regarding China’s forced detainment of the Uighur Muslims in its Xinjiang autonomous region with the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance since last year. Following this, the United States (US) has doubled down on its criticism of Beijing’s handling on the situation, perhaps suggesting that Japan played some part in the US learning about the situation.
Based on the intelligence received from Japan, the US added a series of sanctions for human rights violations against Uighurs to the ones already in place (such as visa restriction on Chinese officials), heightening bilateral tensions, reported Kyodo News. This has further strained the bilateral relationship between Washington and Beijing.
The situation is especially tricky for Japan, who walks the tightrope between China and the US. While it seeks to maintain friendly ties with China, its largest trading partner, it also needs to ensure that it does not hurt relations with the US, its top security ally. Therefore, while the UK has joined the US in criticizing Beijing regarding its heavy tactics of religious suppression, Tokyo has only officially declared that it is “closely watching the situation with concern”.
Both President-elect Joe Biden and President Donald Trump have previously condemned Beijing’s handling of the Uighur Muslims situation, with Biden even going as far as to call it genocide. Likewise, National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Ullyot said that China had committed “horrific acts against women, including forced abortion, forced sterilization and other coercive birth control methods, state-sponsored forced labour, sexual violence including through rape in detention, compulsory home-stays by Han officials and forced marriages.”
Through various intelligence reports received, it is widely believed that over one million Uighur Muslims are detained in over 85 camps. Beijing has also been accused of running a forced sterilisation program against Uighur women. China has denied claims of mistreatment before admitting that the camps were a necessary measure against separatist violence in Xinjiang.
Within the Japanese government, calls to join the “Five Eyes” alliance to better respond to increasing threats by North Korea and China have been increasing. The alliance currently includes Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, but the recent update on Tokyo’s intelligence-sharing operations with the quintet suggests that it is on its way to becoming the “sixth eye”.
Japan Shared Intelligence on China’s Uighur Crackdown With ‘Five Eyes’
Japan shared “key intelligence” on China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang with Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States last year.
December 30, 2020
SOURCE: AP/FRANCISCO SECO