US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday discussed the importance of maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait at their meeting in Washington.
At a news conference after the meeting, Biden thanked Kishida for standing “shoulder to shoulder” with the US on a number of issues as the decades-long alliance between the two nations continues to grow.
Biden commended Kishida for “standing strong with the United States as we stand up for freedom of navigation, including in the South China Sea, and as we maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits; and taking the brave step of mending ties with the Republic of [South] Korea so we can all stand shoulder to shoulder together.”
Photo: New York Times / Bloomberg
On Kishida’s part, he said via an interpreter that he and Biden had underscored the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and confirmed their position to encourage peaceful resolution of the cross-strait issue.
In a joint statement issued after their meeting, Biden and Kishida expressed a common stance on Taiwan.
“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 global security and prosperity. We encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.”
Meanwhile, in a fact sheet about Kishida’s official visit to the US and a state dinner hosted by Biden, the White House noted that both countries will “collaborate with like-minded partners to build trusted and more resilient networks and intend to contribute funds to provide subsea cables in the Pacific region, including US$16 million towards subsea cable systems for Tuvalu.”
This “will connect it for the first time in history, as well as the Federated States of Micronesia,” the fact sheet said.
“In addition, Taiwan also plans to provide funding to deliver connectivity to Tuvalu,” it said.
Tuvalu is one of Taiwan’s 12 diplomatic allies.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed its appreciation to Biden and Kishida for again publicly declaring their countries’ support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
As China continues to step up its military provocations and gray-zone tactics against Taiwan, the joint statement after the summit again shows that the international community agrees on the importance of cross-strait peace, it said.
Taiwan welcomes the global community’s continued concern for peace and security across the Strait and will continue to play its part as a responsible member of the global community, working closely with like-minded partners like the US and Japan to promote regional peace, stability and prosperity, it added.
Additional reporting by CNA
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
RSS