Taiwan's DPP and Japan's LDP widened their regular security talks in Tokyo, a sign both sides now see Chinese pressure as urgent — bad news for Beijing's efforts to isolate Taiwan.

• The two ruling parties grew their annual foreign and defense talks from two people a side to five, and the meeting ran nearly two hours instead of the planned 30 minutes.
• The focus was on "gray zone" pressure from China: political and economic coercion, legal warfare, cyberattacks, disinformation, and more frequent military drills.
• Undersea cable damage and growing Chinese maritime militia activity were singled out as the most worrying near-term threats.
• Cooperation is being pushed beyond defense into drones, cable protection, medical aid, disaster response, semiconductor training, and education.
• Taiwan's side argued its economy has grown partly by cutting reliance on the Chinese market since 2016, even as the security threat has risen.

Outlook: Both sides want the talks turned into formal mechanisms and signed agreements, so expect more institutional Taiwan-Japan security ties in the months ahead.