The finance ministers of China, Japan and South Korea said that while prospects for their economies remained positive, high oil prices may pose a serious risk to regional economies.
The ministers said on Tuesday that they would welcome efforts to increase energy supplies and therefore lower prices.
The three met in Istanbul in advance of the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank, which opened yesterday.
"The prospects of the three countries' economic growth for 2005 are positive although the continuous high oil price may pose a major risk to the regional economy," the ministers -- Japan's Sadakazu Tanigaki, China's Jin Renqing (金人慶) and Han Duck-soo of South Korea -- said in a joint statement after meeting on Tuesday night.
The statement said the three "welcome the efforts to increase medium-term energy supply and efficiency including the encouragement of dialogues between oil-producing and oil-consuming nations."
The three also agreed to make concerted efforts to boost their representation in international financial institutions such as the IMF, the statement said. Asian powers have repeatedly said they are underrepresented in such institutions.
The ministers also discussed efforts to expand the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative, a regional network of bilateral currency-swap agreements that was created after the 1997 to 1998 Asian currency crisis and aims at mutual assistance in times of financial difficulties.
Han said the ministers were looking to expand the initiative from bilateral to multilateral agreements.
Earlier, the head of the Asian Development Bank, Haruhiko Kuroda, addressed recent tensions between China and Japan, saying they were unlikely to disrupt economic ties between the two countries, but adding that economic ties could be hurt if the strains persisted.
If the tension between Asia's two largest economies is prolonged "it could undermine further integration of economies in the region," Kuroda said.
But he added: "I don't think this strong interdependence is undermined, because this interdependence is extremely good for both economies."
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS