The Japanese government welcomes all countries, including Taiwan, that can accept the principles and standards of a Japanese-led international economic bloc and has called on Taipei to solicit support to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a Taiwanese diplomat said yesterday.
The government has confirmed Tokyo’s official stance of welcoming Taipei’s bid to join the CPTPP, Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Deputy Secretary-General Hsieh Bor-huei (謝柏輝) told a news briefing.
It has always been Japan’s stance that such a trade deal would be open to countries or regions that accept its principles and are willing to meet its standards, Hsieh added.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
Japan also suggested that Taiwan should solicit support from more CPTPP members, because the trade group operates by consensus, he said.
A previous comment made by Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono, who said that Taiwan’s decision to maintain a ban on Japanese food products from areas affected by the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster might hamper Taipei’s bid to join the CPTPP, was made in response to media inquires and might only reflect his personal view, Hsieh said.
On Nov. 24 last year, 78 percent of Taiwanese voters cast ballots in favor of the ban.
Asked about Tokyo’s stance regarding the result during a Dec. 7 news conference, Kono expressed disappointment and said that his government would consider filing a complaint with the WTO.
Hsieh said that Taiwan has been trying to amend ties with Japan since the referendum.
Taiwan is considering learning from the US and the EU, which screen certain food products imported from Japan’s nuclear disaster-affected areas to ensure they are safe to eat, instead of banning them altogether, he said.
“In this way, we can make sure the health of Taiwanese is protected, while at the same time staying in line with international standards when dealing with food safety issues,” he said.
The CPTPP last month agreed to expand its membership during its first commission meeting in Tokyo.
Participating countries in a joint ministerial statement highlighted the importance of expanding the agreement by taking in new members to form a stronger united front against the rise of protectionism.
CPTPP member countries understand that Taiwan is interested in joining the trade bloc, and the government would continue to communicate with them and seek their support, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The CPTPP came into being after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in January 2017.
The other 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership countries — Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam — renegotiated the free-trade deal and signed it in March last year.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Taiwan’s two cases of hantavirus so far this year are on par with previous years’ case numbers, and the government is coordinating rat extermination work, so there should not be any outbreaks, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said today in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). An increase in rat sightings in Taipei and New Taipei City has raised concerns about the spread of hantavirus, as rats can carry the disease. In January, a man in his 70s who lived in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) tested positive posthumously for hantavirus, Taiwan’s
RSS