China yesterday called on Australia to take into account the feelings of Asian nations as Canberra contemplates buying a fleet of submarines from Japan.
In some of his strongest remarks on the possible deal, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) told reporters Australia should consider the context of Japan’s role in World War II in developing its military relationship with Tokyo.
Wang made the remarks to journalists during a joint briefing with visiting Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop.
Photo: AP
“We hope that in military cooperation with Japan, Australia will take into full account this historical context and take into consideration also the feelings of Asian countries, because of that history,” Wang said. “We hope that Australia will take concrete actions to support the peaceful development of Japan and Japan’s efforts to uphold its pacifist constitution, and not the opposite.”
Australia this year is to pick the design for a new fleet of submarines in a deal worth as much as A$40 billion (US$28.51 billion).
Japan, which is offering a variant of its Soryu submarine, is competing against rival bids from Germany and France for the contract.
Washington is encouraging closer security cooperation between Japan and Australia.
Bishop arrived in Beijing on Tuesday after visiting Tokyo. Australia is seeking to deepen economic ties with China, its largest trading partner.
Bishop said a “comprehensive evaluation process” was underway about a submarine deal that would meet Australia’s capability and technological requirements.
“That is what will drive the competitive evaluation process that is currently underway,” she added.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
The nation’s usually punctual high-speed rail system yesterday was hit by major disruptions after all scheduled services were canceled and replaced with three hourly trains offering only non-reserved seating, affecting more than 200,000 passengers. Preliminary findings indicate the disruption was caused by a faulty power module in a track switch control cabinet, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said, adding that as a full system inspection could only be conducted after operations end for the day, a decision on whether normal service would resume today would be announced before the first train departs. During a routine inspection early yesterday, a switch signal abnormality
RSS