Japan yesterday welcomed Taiwan’s application to join a trans-Pacific trade pact, citing shared democratic values.
Japanese officials’ appreciation of Taiwan’s values with regard to democracy and rule of law contrasted with Tokyo’s cautious reaction to China’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
“We consider Taiwan a very important partner with which we share fundamental values such as freedom, democracy, basic human rights and rule of law,” Japanese Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference.
Photo: AP
Japan is chairing the pact this year.
After Taiwan made the application on Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it opposed Taiwan “entering into any official treaty or organization.”
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “The Chinese government only wants to bully Taiwan in the international community, and is the arch criminal in increased hostility across the Taiwan Strait,” it said.
China is not a member of the CPTPP and its trade system has been widely questioned globally for not meeting the high standards of the bloc, it said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said tech powerhouse Taiwan is well-prepared to join the bloc.
“Joining CPTPP will strengthen Taiwan’s key global strategic and economic and trade status, and further integrate us with the world,” Tsai said in Keelung yesterday.
While Japan said Taiwan’s application would need to be scrutinized against the trade pact’s strict standards, the positive reaction stood in contrast to a cautious response to China’s application on Thursday last week.
Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso expressed skepticism about China’s chances, citing strict rules related to state-owned enterprises.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato yesterday sidestepped a reporter’s question about the different reactions to the applications, declining to go into specifics on Japan’s position on China, but referring to values shared with Taiwan.
Kato added that under the trade pact’s rules, membership was open to Taiwan, adding that it was already an independent member of the WTO and APEC.
All four candidates to become Japan’s next prime minister yesterday also expressed uniform support for Taiwan’s bid.
During a debate broadcast online, one of the candidates, former minister of foreign affairs Fumio Kishida, “welcomed” Taiwan’s application, saying Japan and Taiwan share values such as human rights.
Japanese Minister of Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform Taro Kono also said he supported Taiwan’s participation in the WHO.
“Considering economic exchanges between Japan and Taiwan, I think it is a very happy thing that Taiwan will join after passing TPP’s [Trans-Pacific Pact’s] high standard. Definitely, I would like to support,” Kono said.
PREPAREDNESS: Given the difficulty of importing ammunition during wartime, the Ministry of National Defense said it would prioritize ‘coproduction’ partnerships A newly formed unit of the Marine Corps tasked with land-based security operations has recently replaced its aging, domestically produced rifles with more advanced, US-made M4A1 rifles, a source said yesterday. The unnamed source familiar with the matter said the First Security Battalion of the Marine Corps’ Air Defense and Base Guard Group has replaced its older T65K2 rifles, which have been in service since the late 1980s, with the newly received M4A1s. The source did not say exactly when the upgrade took place or how many M4A1s were issued to the battalion. The confirmation came after Chinese-language media reported
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday said that a delegation that visited China for an APEC meeting did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty. Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said that he and a group of ministry officials visited Shenzhen, China, to attend the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting last month. The trip went “smoothly and safely” for all Taiwanese delegates, as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices, Sun said at the ministry’s weekly briefing. The Taiwanese group did not encounter any political suppression, he said. Sun made the remarks when
BROAD AGREEMENT: The two are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff to 15% and a commitment for TSMC to build five more fabs, a ‘New York Times’ report said Taiwan and the US have reached a broad consensus on a trade deal, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday, after a report said that Washington is set to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent. The New York Times on Monday reported that the two nations are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent and commit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to building at least five more facilities in the US. “The agreement, which has been under negotiation for months, is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month,” the paper said,
RSS