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
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
RSS