US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday.
Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in Taiwan,” the Yomiuri Shimbun said.
Photo: Reuters
Trump also presented a book of photos in which he wrote the word “peace” to Akie Abe, for her to pass on to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, it said.
Trump has not yet met with Ishiba, but Japanese media have reported that Ishiba might visit the US next month before Trump’s inauguration to meet with him.
“We want to create an opportunity to exchange opinions as soon as possible and at a mutually convenient time,” Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya was cited by the Japan Times as saying during a meeting on Thursday.
In a report on Dec. 13, Reuters cited a post on X by CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins in which she wrote that while Akie Abe “holds no government position, she has served as one bridge between her country and Trump. Trump has called her regularly to check in on her since her husband’s assassination.”
In other news, US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) president Rupert Hammond-Chambers said the US’ latest approved arms sale to Taiwan addressed needs for “tactical data-link system modernization and gun mounts for Taiwan’s ship programs.”
He was referring to an announcement by the US State Department on Saturday that US$265 million in arms sales to Taiwan were approved — the 19th arms sale to the nation during the administration of US President Joe Biden.
The sale includes 309 Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio Systems Variant 5 and assistance in integrating them on Taiwan’s Patriot and other missile defense systems, and F-16 Block 20 jets. The package also includes communications equipment and services to modernize the nation’s Advanced Tactical Data Link System.
The Biden administration’s “non-escalatory” approach to Taiwan’s arms sales and procurement is in line with the US’ overall strategy of supporting partners and allies, which also includes Israel and Ukraine, Hammond-Chambers said.
“While the constant flow of support has material and political benefits, it has, regrettably, been overly narrow in response to the totality of the threat posed by China’s military forces,” he said.
He commended former US assistant secretary of the bureau of political military affairs Jessica Lewis, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Jedidiah P. Royal for their “efforts to improve American national interest in and around Taiwan.”
“We can expect Taiwan President Lai Ching-te [賴清德] to be proactive in encouraging further growth in security assistance,” he said.
“[Lai] will likely present the incoming Trump administration with an ambitious agenda, including increased spending, requests to purchase new platforms and systems, and expanding resources available for the coast guard sustainment and training,” he added.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
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