Japanese lawmakers reeling from attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel gathered on Monday at the ruling party's offices in Tokyo to question bureaucrats about evacuation plans, energy stocks and
Japanese lawmakers reeling from attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel gathered on Monday at the ruling party's offices in Tokyo to question bureaucrats about evacuation plans, energy stocks and the legal basis for U.S. action.
But one query posed at the closed-door meeting, described to Reuters by a politician who attended, reflected a deeper fear haunting Asia's corridors of power since Trump's weekend attacks unleashed chaos in the Middle East.
How would the region respond to a hole left in its defenses if Washington diverted ships and missiles it now uses to deter China?
The problem is urgent for Japan and South Korea, home to big U.S. military bases that help counter China's military flexing and nuclear-armed North Korea, as well as for democratic Taiwan, claimed by Beijing and armed by Washington.
"We hope this operation is fast, limited, and that resources can be promptly shifted back to Asia," said Chen Kuan-ting, a ruling party lawmaker in Taiwan who sits on its parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee.
A prolonged conflict could harm "stability and peace in the Indo-Pacific", said Chen, adding that Taipei must prepare for Beijing to step up "coercion" while the United States is
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