Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida yesterday told Asian leaders that ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was important for regional security, and that China is increasingly escalating tensions in the region.
Addressing the ASEAN summit in Cambodia, Kishida voiced “serious concern” over the human rights situation of the Uighur people, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
“There has been continued, increasing actions by China in the East China Sea that violate Japan’s sovereignty. China also continues to take actions that heighten regional tension in the South China Sea,” the statement quoted Kishida as saying.
Photo: AP
A day earlier, Kishida also underlined the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait at the summit, Tokyo Broadcasting System TV reported.
Kishida was concerned about China “trying to change the status quo with military force and carrying out economic threats,” it reported, adding that this was the first time the prime minister has discussed Taiwan-related issues at an ASEAN summit.
To help ASEAN member nations revive their economies after the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan promised to provide loans totaling ￥29.5 billion (US$212.5 million).
Photo: AFP
The loans were announced in part due to Beijing’s growing economic clout among ASEAN member countries, the report said.
Kishida hopes to invest in high-quality infrastructure in these countries to extend Japan’s influence and win support in the event of a conflict breaking out across the Taiwan Strait, the report said.
Yesterday, Kishida, US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed a unified, coordinated response to North Korea’s threatening nuclear and ballistic missile programs, with Biden declaring that their three-way partnership is “even more important than it’s ever been” as the North is stepping up its provocations.
The three leaders met separately before sitting down together on the sidelines of the summit in Cambodia.
The meeting was heavily focused on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s recent escalations, although Biden said that they would also discuss strengthening supply chains and preserving peace across the Taiwan Strait, while building on the countries’ support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
Biden had also planned to seek input from Kishida and Yoon on managing China’s assertive posture in the Pacific region.
“We face real challenges, but our countries are more aligned than ever, more prepared to take on those challenges than ever,” Biden said. “So I look forward to deepening the bonds of cooperation between our three countries.”
Yoon and Kishida discussed the ongoing displays of aggression by North Korea, which has fired dozens of missiles in the past few weeks.
The launches include an intercontinental ballistic missile 10 days ago that triggered evacuation alerts in northern Japan, and the allies have warned of a looming risk that the isolated country might conduct its seventh nuclear test in the coming weeks.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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