The government would continue to work with peace-loving and like-minded countries to tackle regional challenges, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, as it declined to comment on Japan’s reported refusal to exchange defense information with Taiwan.
High-ranking military officials in February 2019 proposed to the Japanese government that the two sides regularly exchange intelligence about the locations and activities of Chinese warplanes, the Central News Agency reported yesterday, citing a report by Nikkei Asia.
However, Japan turned down the request on the grounds that it has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and that the proposed mechanism would involve more intelligence than necessary, the report said.
The Ministry of National Defense has no comment about the report, ministry spokesman Shih Shun-wen (史順文) told the Taipei Times yesterday.
The foreign ministry also said it has no comment, but highlighted the threats posed by China.
Incursions by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone threaten peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as well as the western Pacific, which has sparked concerns in many countries, foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
Taiwan would maintain close communications with peace-loving and like-minded countries in the region to jointly tackle the challenges, Ou said.
In January 2019, then-Japanese minister of defense Takeshi Iwaya said during an event in Washington that cross-strait problems should be resolved through peaceful means, without saying whether Japan would aid Taiwan in the event of forced unification by China.
Japanese Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi, who assumed office in September 2020, has been more outspoken about support for Taiwan.
Following a videoconference with Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) on Monday last week, Kishi said the two sides agreed to establish a hotline between Japanese and Chinese defense officials.
He also said that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are vital to Japan’s security, and that China and Japan should jointly manage risks in the East China Sea.
Additional reporting by CNA
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