Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday thanked US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for supporting peace in the Taiwan Strait, a day after the two at a summit in Tokyo emphasized the importance of regional stability and ahead of a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea today.
The previous day’s meeting was the first time Takaichi had met with the US leader since becoming Japanese prime minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Since taking office on Tuesday last week, Takaichi has urged the international community to maintain cross-strait stability and check authoritarian expansion, the ministry said, citing her speeches at the ASEAN summit and the East Asia Summit in Malaysia this week, and her meeting with Trump.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Her announcements demonstrated Japan’s “firm position on urging the international community to prioritize cross-strait peace,” which plays an integral role in global security and prosperity, the ministry said.
“As a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan is committed to enhancing its self-defense capabilities,” it said.
Taiwan would “defend the freedom, openness, peace, and prosperity of Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific” region with Japan and other like-minded countries, it added.
Photo:Reuters
Separately, the Presidential Office said that Taiwan welcomes dialogue that could reduce regional tensions ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting.
The government views with positivity any efforts aimed at decreasing the risks of military conflict and facilitating peaceful development in the region, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) told reporters.
Taiwan is especially thankful for Washington’s support for Taiwanese security and democracy, as demonstrated by statements by US officials at the UN General Assembly and the US-Japan-South Korea joint declaration, Kuo said.
During his summit with Takaichi, Trump reiterated the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and US opposition to attempts to unilaterally change to the “status quo,” Kuo said.
The US and Japanese leaders’ comments were affirmations that the international consensus about Taiwan still holds, she said, adding that the nation communicates closely with the Trump administration.
Taiwan continues to work with Washington to maintain peace and stability in the Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, she said.
In related news, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said that the structural rivalry between the US and China would test Trump’s and Xi’s efforts today to moderate the competition between their nations.
The meeting is expected to revolve around topics concerning trade, economics and mechanisms governing a managed competition, Tsai said.
Washington and Beijing appeared to have adopted an approach to first handle fentanyl and exports of rare earths before confronting more difficult issues, he said.
The process would give Trump and Xi leeway to show some accomplishments to their domestic audiences, and cultivate an atmosphere of being positive and reasonable, he said.
However, the competition between the two nations stems from enduring structural issues, including clashing national security interests and technology controls that defy easy solutions, Tsai said.
Although the talks might broach geopolitical topics, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already assured the international community that Trump would not use Taiwan as a bargaining chip in negotiating with Xi, Tsai said.
Should issues concerning Taiwan become part of the talks, Trump’s advisers and staff would furnish him with the appropriate guidance, he said, adding that the bureau would closely observe the talks.
Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS