US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday affirmed their shared commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposition to any attempts to unilaterally change the “status quo.”
The two leaders met at the White House to discuss trade and cooperation in defense, technology and space, a fact sheet published by the White House on the meeting said.
Kyodo News said Takaichi expressed concern during the meeting about the severe security environment in the Indo-Pacific region in the face of an “increasingly assertive” China, while also noting reports that the US has shifted some of its military assets in the region to the Middle East.
Photo: EPA
The White House said the two leaders affirmed their commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an “indispensable element of regional security and global prosperity,” the White House said.
Trump and Takaichi also expressed support for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues through dialogue, and opposed any attempts to unilaterally change the “status quo,” including by force or coercion, it said.
Thursday’s summit was the second between the two leaders. The two first held a summit in Tokyo in October last year.
Additionally, to bolster deterrence, both sides agreed to quadruple the production of the upgraded interceptor missile SM-3 Block IIA, jointly developed by Japan and the US.
The SM-3 Block IIA is designed primarily to counter short and medium-range missiles. Under a collaborative production model, Japan is responsible for key components while the US handles overall manufacturing.
The missile interceptor is one of the most representative joint weapons programs in US-Japan defense cooperation.
In Taipei, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) yesterday said that Taiwan welcomes the US-Japan leaders’ meeting and expressed “appreciation for the important consensus reached on strengthening the US-Japan alliance and security in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The two nations again reaffirmed that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are indispensable to regional security and global prosperity, and they oppose any attempts to change the “status quo” through force or coercion, which fully reflect the broad consensus of the international community, Kuo said.
Taiwan will continue to uphold the principle of “peace through strength,” strengthening self-defense capabilities and promoting society-wide defense resilience, while deepening cooperation with like-minded countries to jointly safeguard a rules-based international order and ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region, she added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed its “heartfelt gratitude” to the two leaders for reaffirming their commitment to security across the Taiwan Strait.
The ministry said in a statement that it welcomes the international community to continue advocating for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, citing Taiwan’s vital role in the global economy and crucial strategic location in the first island chain.
Additional reporting by Lin Tsuei-yi
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