The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked Japan after Japanese media reported that Tokyo was studying the feasibility of helping the US defend Taiwan in the event of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait.
Japanese Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met in Tokyo on Tuesday last week, when they discussed closely cooperating in the event of China attacking Taiwan, the Tokyo-based Kyodo News said on Saturday, citing Japanese government sources.
Austin raised the issue in talks with Kishi, although there was no discussion on how the countries would coordinate their response in such an emergency, the sources said.
Kishi reportedly told Austin that Tokyo had been reviewing the feasibility of sending Japan Self-Defense Forces to cooperate with the US military in defending Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, “given the Strait’s geographical proximity and the possibility of an armed conflict there affecting the safety of Japanese citizens,” the news agency reported.
Tokyo and Washington have not confirmed the report.
A public statement issued after the talks by Kishi and Austin called for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Asked to comment, MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) yesterday said that Taiwan’s government thanked the US and Japan for stressing the importance of maintaining cross-strait peace and stability.
Taiwan would continue to work closely with the US, Japan and other like-minded countries to jointly defend democracy and the rules-based international order, and to maintain regional peace, stability and prosperity, Ou added.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS