Media: Washington, Tokyo are making plans to defend Taiwan against China’s potential attack

Washington has nudged Tokyo to consider roles for the Japanese military such as hunting for Chinese submarines around Taiwan, said people familiar with the discussions, without getting any commitment, Report informs via The Wall Street Journal.

The planning is one of the most important aspects of the U.S. response to Beijing’s threats to capture Taiwan by force. At its closest, Japan is just 70 miles from the democratically self-governing island, and it hosts some 54,000 U.S. troops, concentrated on the southern island of Okinawa.

If China moves to seize Taiwan and the US intervenes, as President Biden has said it would, the first response would likely come from those US bases.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the US is seeking more clarity from Japan as the two sides try to develop a combined operational plan for a Taiwan conflict. Subjects include supply routes, missile-launcher sites and refugee-evacuation plans, people familiar with the talks say. Japan is willing to support the US military by providing fuel and other supplies, these people say.