WASHINGTON – Former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera indicated Monday that Tokyo would keep a close watch on any remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump about Taiwan in his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. If Trump makes comments deviating from his past statements about Taiwan at his meeting with Xi later this month, that would have a major impact on U.S. allies, the Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker said during a symposium hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank. Japan's relations with China have deteriorated due to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's parliamentary remark last November that China's possible use of force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, in which the country could exercise its right to collective self-defense. China considers Taiwan to be at the center of its core interests. Meanwhile, Trump is distancing himself from the Japan-China confrontation.…