The ruling parties of Taiwan and Japan yesterday held their first diplomatic and defense policy discussion, with representatives of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) pledging to support Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The 90-minute videoconference was attended by Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), with LDP Foreign Affairs division director Masahisa Sato and National Defense division director Taku Otsuka, DPP spokeswoman Hsieh Pei-fen (謝佩芬) said after the meeting.
The Japanese representatives asked Taipei to facilitate an investment by the Taiwanese semiconductor industry — especially Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) — into the Japanese chip industry, Lo said.
Photo courtesy of the Democratic Progressive Party
The LDP representatives also pledged to back Taiwan’s bid to enter the CPTPP, as its participation in the organization is an important goal for Taiwan and regional partners, and would improve Taiwan-Japan relations, Lo said.
Both sides mentioned their concern over the presence of Chinese military vessels and aircraft in Japan’s southwestern and Taiwan’s northeastern sea zones, Tsai said.
Japan said it would invest a significant sum of the next fiscal year’s defense budget to bolster its air superiority in the region, while Taiwan said it would seek to increase its defense and take measures to secure its northeastern front, he said.
Both sides discussed military cooperation, which each said they would forward to their respective defense ministries, he said, adding that he could not comment on the specifics of the dialogue.
They also discussed the US’ resolve to support Taiwan’s defense, Lo added.
The party representatives also agreed to promote coast guard collaborations, Tsai said, adding that just before the meeting started, Sato wrote on Twitter, in Japanese, that “one day, the coast guards of Japan, Taiwan and the US will conduct joint training.”
While the issue of vaccines had not been brought up, Lo said that he had thanked the LDP and the Japanese government for donating vaccines to Taiwan, adding that it would deepen bilateral ties.
The Japan side said that its House of Councilors, the upper house of Japan’s Diet, in June introduced a motion to support Taiwan’s participation in the WHO as an observer.
In a separate comment to reporters after the meeting, Lo said that developing better Taiwan-Japan relations is backed by strong public support.
International affairs are changing, as many nations begin to express doubts about China, and Beijing’s bellicose attitude and military ambitions were among the many issues that led to the meeting, Lo said.
Sato said the dialogue would help inform the Japanese ruling party’s policymaking.
“The Taiwanese side said they had been waiting and hoping for such a dialogue ... [we both] felt it was significant to come up with common goals between the ruling parties that can lead to government policy for both countries,” Sato said.
China last week condemned the talks, saying that Japan should not send the “wrong signals” about Taiwan’s independence.
Lo brushed off China’s objections, saying it was expected.
“Taiwan, as a sovereign and independent country, has the right to promote bilateral and multilateral ties with all countries,” he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters and CNA
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
RSS