Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday thanked Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi for emphasizing the importance of safeguarding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait during Koizumi’s meeting with Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍).
Koizumi made the remarks when he met with Dong at the 12th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), ASEAN’s defense platform, during his visit to Malaysia.
In the meeting, Koizumi said that among the various aspects of Japan-China relations, the security field remains the most challenging area.
Photo: AFP
He expressed Japan’s serious concern over Beijing’s increasing military activities in the East China Sea and the Pacific region.
He also reiterated concern about China’s military activities around Japan, including those conducted jointly with Russia, and the situation in the South China Sea, as he emphasized the significance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a news release said that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is of shared interest to the international community, and indispensable to the world’s prosperity and security.
Photo grab from x.com/takaichi_sanae
As authoritarianism expands, constantly challenging the rules-based world order and intensifying tensions, Taiwan continues to strengthen its self-defense capabilities and whole-of-society resilience, the ministry said.
Taipei would continue to work with democratic allies to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, it added.
Meanwhile, the ministry yesterday also responded to China’s protests to Tokyo about a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and presidential adviser Lin Hsin-i (林信義), Taiwan’s envoy to this year’s APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
Takaichi wrote on social media that she had met with Lin on Friday and Saturday.
Tokyo is looking forward to deepening cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, she said.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Saturday criticized Takaichi for meeting with Lin on the sidelines of the APEC summit and posting on social media about the discussions.
“Those actions are egregious in nature and impact,” it said. “China expresses its firm opposition and has made serious demarches and protests to Japan.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was natural for Taiwan, as a formal member of APEC, to engage in exchanges with other member states.
Lin engaged in exchanges with the leaders or representatives of more than 10 economies, including Takaichi and US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, during the summit, the ministry said.
The ministry reiterated that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent country and it is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The PRC has never governed Taiwan, which is a fact and the “status quo” acknowledged by the international community, it said, adding that Beijing has no right to comment on and interfere in the sovereign actions of other nations.
China’s criticism about the interactions between Taiwan and Japan based on the so-called “one China principle” has violated the core principle of equal participation for all APEC members, it said.
Taiwan and Japan, as important partners and friends, share universal values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law, the ministry said.
Taiwan is to continue to deepen cooperation with Japan on the solid foundation of their bilateral relations to jointly safeguard peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, it said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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