Taiwan Wants to Be Part of "First Island Chain" Security Framework

Weaving Taiwan into existing frameworks to create a stronger US-led regional defense architecture is crucial to deterring Chinese aggression, Taiwan’s top diplomat told The Japan Times, as Taipei looks to deepen security ties with Tokyo and neighboring countries, Gabriel Dominguez reported.

“The most important thing is to embed Taiwan more fully into Indo-Pacific security frameworks,” particularly with partner countries along the “first island chain,” Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said. (Photo: 林佳龍 Lin Chia-lung X)

To effectively deter China’s attempts to expand its influence all the way into the Pacific, “the most important thing is to embed Taiwan more fully into Indo-Pacific security frameworks,” particularly with partner countries along the “first island chain,” Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said in an interview in Taipei.

The term refers to the strategic string of islands stretching from Japan to Borneo that forms a “chain” between China and the Pacific.

Washington has long had bilateral security treaties with several countries in the region.

But new challenges—particularly the rapid rise of China and intensifying territorial and maritime disputes—have led to the emergence of “minilateralism,” or small US-led country groupings aimed at tackling shared security concerns.