US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are to underline the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement after their meeting on April 10, Jiji Press quoted a Japanese government official as saying.
Kishida is to begin his state visit to the US on Monday next week, and would be the first Japanese prime minister to do so since former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s trip in 2015, the news agency reported yesterday.
Washington and Tokyo are to position their relationship as a “global partnership” and to outline wide-ranging economic, diplomatic and security cooperation, it said.
Photo: AFP
As the world is facing a turning point where the international order is being challenged, the US and Japan hope to paint their relationship as one that works “to maintain and strengthen the international order,” a Japanese governmental official was quoted as saying.
After the two leaders meet, they are to hold a joint news conference at the White House and issue a joint statement that elaborates on the partnership, Jiji Press reported.
On the economic front, the two sides are to bolster their cooperation in advanced technologies such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, it said.
They are also to boost cooperation in economic security, including supply chain resilience, by working with private companies, research institutes and universities, which would be clearly stated in the joint statement or related documents, Jiji Press cited the official as saying.
In the fields of diplomacy and security, the US and Japan are to outline plans to promote cooperation between the command systems of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the US military, it reported.
The Yomiuri Shimbun last week reported that the US is considering plans to enhance the functions of the US Forces Japan Headquarters for more effective interoperability.
In the face of China’s increasingly hegemonic behavior, Biden and Kishida are to highlight the “importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait” in the joint statement, the newspaper said.
In other news, the Japanese government has announced a policy to build evacuation shelters on five islands in Okinawa Prefecture in preparation for a potential Taiwan contingency, Fuji News Network reported.
Japan aims to build “temporary evacuation facilities” for residents in Okinawa’s Ishigaki and Miyakojima cities, Yonaguni and Taketomi towns and Tarama Village, it said.
The shelters would be designed to allow evacuees to stay for about two weeks, with outer walls made of reinforced concrete that is at least 30cm thick, Fuji News Network said.
The shelters would also be equipped with an emergency generator and multiple communication devices, it added.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old