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.
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