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
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
Taiwanese who have recently traveled to China for tourism, to visit friends or relatives or for business reasons have been interrogated, detained and faced other forms of unreasonable treatment from Chinese officials, a source said on Sunday. Among them was a Taiwanese who was detained for eight hours at an airport in China due to their research, which is related to religion, while others have had their travel documents for China canceled for a number of reasons, the source said. In July, China expanded the scope of its counterespionage law, and recently announced a draft amendment to the law on the protection