US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday issued a joint statement reiterating the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, as they encouraged Beijing and Taipei to resolve issues peacefully.
“We emphasize that our basic positions on Taiwan remain unchanged, and reiterate the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community,” the leaders said in a joint statement issued during Biden’s visit to Ottawa.
“We encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues,” it added.
Photo: Bloomberg
Biden and Trudeau also presented a united front against authoritarian regimes days after the leaders of China and Russia held a summit in Moscow.
The statement said that Ottawa and Washington “acknowledge the serious long-term challenge to the international order posed by the People’s Republic of China, including disruptive actions such as economic coercion, nonmarket policies and practices, and human rights abuses.”
“While we will cooperate with China in areas of mutual interest, such as on climate change, we remain committed to ensuring our ability to compete effectively with China on a level playing field,” it said. “Canada and the United States will also continue to cooperate on countering foreign interference in our societies in a manner that reflects our shared democratic values.”
Photo: AFP / Justin Stack / US Navy
The leaders also “welcomed the first US-Canada Indo-Pacific Strategic Dialogue on March 10 and will cooperate to promote a free, open, prosperous, secure and resilient Indo-Pacific,” it added.
Images of Biden and Trudeau standing side by side in Ottawa announcing agreements including on semiconductors and migration represented a counterpoint to the scene in Moscow days earlier. There, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin professed friendship and pledged closer ties as Russia struggles to make gains in what the West considers an unjust invasion of Ukraine.
At a joint news conference with Trudeau, Biden questioned the level of China’s and Russia’s cooperation, adding that China has not provided weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.
Biden said the US had expanded alliances including with NATO, the G7, South Korea and the “Quad” nations of the US, Australia, India and Japan.
“We have significantly expanded our alliances,” Biden said. “Tell me how in fact you see a circumstance where China has made a significant commitment to Russia. What commitment can they make?”
Addressing Canada’s parliament, Biden said that as NATO members, the two countries would “defend every inch of NATO territory.”
Trudeau told the news conference that Ukraine was a top issue.
“Today we reaffirmed our steadfast support for the Ukrainian people as they defend themselves against Putin’s brutal and barbaric invasion,” Trudeau said.
At the news conference, Trudeau announced the two leaders had signed an agreement with IBM to develop semiconductor capacity and ease reliance on foreign makers after supply-chain problems bedeviled the countries.
The US Defense Production Act is to provide US$250 million, Biden said.
Canada has an abundance of the critical minerals used to produce batteries and electric vehicles, but China currently dominates the global market.
Trudeau is preparing a budget to be published on Tuesday aimed at scaling up critical mineral and clean tech production.
Biden announced US$50 million to incentivize US and Canadian companies to invest in packaging semiconductors and said that Canada would provide up to C$250 million (US$181.11 million) for semiconductor projects in the near term, the joint statement said.
The countries also agreed on an energy transformation task force focusing on clean power and vowed to cooperate on a “North American critical minerals supply chain,” it said.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu said the strengthening of military facilities would help to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post would move forward as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing. “The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.” Former Japanese minister of defense Gen Nakatani in January said that Tokyo wanted to base Type 03 Chu-SAM missiles on Yonaguni, but little progress
NO CHANGES: A Japanese spokesperson said that Tokyo remains consistent and open for dialogue, while Beijing has canceled diplomatic engagements A Japanese official blasted China’s claims that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has altered Japan’s position on a Taiwan crisis as “entirely baseless,” calling for more dialogue to stop ties between Asia’s top economies from spiraling. China vowed to take resolute self-defense against Japan if it “dared to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait” in a letter delivered Friday to the UN. “I’m aware of this letter,” said Maki Kobayashi, a senior Japanese government spokeswoman. “The claim our country has altered its position is entirely baseless,” she said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday. The Chinese Ministry
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