Japan and Taiwan’s Pacific ally Palau on Friday spoke of the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait while reaffirming their opposition to unilateral attempts to change the “status quo” in the Indo-Pacific region.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, after meeting in Tokyo, issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to “realize a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Their meeting “emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” as well as the need to maintain freedom of navigation and overflight, the statement said.
Photo: AFP
The leaders expressed concern about the situation in the East and South China seas, it added.
They oppose “any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force and increase tensions that could undermine regional stability and the rules-based international order,” it said.
All forms of military, economic and political coercion should be opposed, and harmful disinformation countered, the statement said, adding that the two countries would cooperate to respond to economic coercion that aims to achieve “political ends.”
While China is not specifically mentioned in the statement, the comments came as Beijing attmpts to expand its influence over Pacific island nations.
A security agreement China signed with the Solomon Islands, which switched allegiance from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, could have a “significant impact” on Pacific security, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference during a visit to Palau in May.
The US, Australia and New Zealand have also expressed similar concerns over the security pact that was signed in April.
Whipps arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday for a four-day visit, his first trip to Japan since assuming office in January last year.
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