By Emeka Blast 
America Warns Japan and Australia to Be Ready for Conflict with China over Taiwan
The United States has intensified pressure on its key Asia-Pacific allies, Japan and Australia, to clarify their roles in a potential military conflict with China over Taiwan, according to a Financial Times report. The Pentagon, led by Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, has pressed both nations to increase defense spending and outline specific commitments, a move that has caught Tokyo and Canberra off guard given Washington’s own policy of “strategic ambiguity” toward defending Taiwan.
The call comes amid heightened Chinese military activity around Taiwan, with Taipei reporting 47 aircraft and 90 naval and coast guard vessels operating in the region over the past week, including nine aircraft crossing the Taiwan Strait median line into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Saturday. Taiwan has responded by deploying warships and mobile missile groups, raising its alert level to “high.” China’s actions, described as an “extreme pressure campaign,” aim to assert sovereignty over the island, which Beijing claims as its territory despite Taipei’s objections.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that a Chinese invasion “could be imminent,” a shift from earlier assurances that conflict was neither inevitable nor immediate. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in May, Hegseth urged allies to boost defense budgets to 5% of GDP to counter China’s $231.36 billion military spending, emphasizing that the U.S. “will not be pushed out of this critical region.” China’s Foreign Ministry rebuked the remarks, accusing the U.S. of turning the Asia-Pacific into a “powder keg” and promoting a “Cold War mentality.”
Japan, hosting 54,000 U.S. troops, is already preparing for a “Taiwan contingency.” Plans to build bomb shelters on remote islands like Yonaguni, near Taiwan, are set to begin in 2026, with evacuation drills for over 100,000 civilians in the works. However, Japan’s Ministry of Defense called the Pentagon’s request “hypothetical,” stating responses would align with its constitution and international law. Australia, meanwhile, has firmly declined to commit troops in advance. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, “The decision to commit troops will be made by the government of the day, not in advance,” reflecting Canberra’s reluctance to be drawn into a conflict without guarantees from Washington.
The Pentagon’s push follows joint exercises like Talisman Sabre and Mobility Guardian 23, which left equipment stockpiles in Australia and Guam to bolster logistics for a potential conflict. U.S. officials acknowledge that Pacific logistics remain a vulnerability, with China likely to target fuel supplies and bases in a Taiwan conflict. Posts on X reflect global unease, with @Kamal804_ noting the Indo-Pacific is “on high alert” and @RealBababanaras highlighting China’s state TV preparing its public for war.
Critics argue the U.S. demand places Japan and Australia in a difficult position, especially as President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” policy leaves allies uncertain about U.S. commitment. Japan reportedly canceled a meeting with Colby over the pressure, signaling frustration. As China’s military maneuvers escalate, including amphibious landing drills off Fujian, the U.S. continues to arm Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, though Trump has not clarified whether he would deploy forces to defend the island. The situation underscores the delicate balance of deterrence and diplomacy, with the risk of miscalculation threatening to ignite a broader conflict in the Indo-Pacific.
