Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated the importance of stability across the Taiwan Strait while Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) said Taiwan issues are “a red line” for China.
Kishida and Li traveled to Seoul for the first China-Japan-South Korea trilateral summit since 2019, which was held yesterday.
Before the three leaders met, Kishida, Li and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol held bilateral meetings on Sunday.
Photo: Kyodo News via AP
During the meeting with Li, Kishida “reiterated that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is extremely important to the international community, including Japan,” the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Japan is closely monitoring developments across the Taiwan Strait, including “the recent military situation,” it said.
Kishida was referring to the “Joint Sword-2024A” military exercise Beijing launched around Taiwan on Thursday and Friday last week, Sankei Shimbun cited a source traveling together with the prime minister as saying.
Kishida also expressed “serious concerns” about China’s increased military activities around Japan, including the Senkaku Islands, called the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan and China, and the East China Sea, while asking for the immediate removal of buoys that China set up within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the ministry said.
Li said that issues regarding Taiwan and history are “matters of principle related to China’s core interests and also matters of faith,” Kyodo News reported on Sunday.
“In particular, the Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests and is a red line,” Li said, which Kyodo News said was an attempt to “keep Japan in check.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Kishida reached an important agreement to promote a “mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests” when they met in San Francisco in November last year.
“It is hoped that Japan would keep its promise and create a positive atmosphere for the continuous development of bilateral relations,” China News Service cited Li as saying.
Kishida said that Japan’s position regarding Taiwan as stated in the Japan-China Joint Communique of 1972 has not changed, it reported.
The document states that Japan would sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan, with which it would deepen non-governmental practical cooperation mainly in the economic field, Kyodo News said.
After the trilateral meeting yesterday, the three leaders said they agreed to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN countries and countries in the Middle East as a response to international issues such as the threats posed by North Korea and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The issue about the Taiwan Strait was not mentioned in the joint statement issued after the meeting.
Additional reporting by CNA
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