Images of the Japanese flag painted on two fighter jets to be displayed on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II have been removed after Tokyo voiced concern over historical accuracy, officials said yesterday.
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) confirmed that Japan had expressed its concern that the two planes — one Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) and one F-16 — with Japanese flags painted underneath their cockpits were not the same kind of planes that were used during the war.
After Japan said it hoped the commemorative activities would be conducted based on historical facts, the foreign ministry notified the Ministry of National Defense, which decided to paint over the flags, Lin said.
Photo: Lo Tien-bin, Taipei Times
“Japan is our friend and our relationship with Japan is very important to us,” he said.
However, the Japanese flags painted on a fighter aircraft modeled on the P40 Warhawk used by the “Flying Tigers” against Japan during the war remain, Lin said.
“Japan did not press us to paint over the flags on the P-40 fighter because that complied with historical facts,” Lin said.
While President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has emphasized the need to enhance public understanding of the history of the war through the commemorative events, “Taiwan also places a lot of value on its relationship with Japan.”
“It is important that we find a balance between promoting historical events and the relationship [with Japan],” he said.
The foreign ministry also addressed Japanese concerns over the implications of the commemorative activities at its regular news conference yesterday.
The Interchange Association, Japan — Tokyo’s representative office in Taipei — fully understands that the purpose of commemorating the end of the war is for the public to remember the lessons learned from history and the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region, Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs section head Liu Tuo (劉拓) told the news conference.
Liu was responding to a report on Monday in the Sankei Shimbun that said the activities planned by Taiwan’s government have upset the Interchange Association, and it had questioned whether they indicate the Ma administration is adopting an anti-Japan policy.
The Interchange Association yesterday declined to comment.
However, Interchange Association Director Kotatsu Nishino said his office had not been invited to attend the military display.
He made the comment at a ceremony he hosted to confer the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun on former representative to Japan Hsu Shui-teh (許水德).
The defense ministry said an invitation had been delivered on Friday last week.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS