Representatives from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) today held their sixth annual “Diplomacy and Defense 2+2” dialogue at DPP headquarters in Taipei, with this year’s meeting to feature a record number of topics and attendees.
This year, the dialogue would be followed by the first session of the LDP’s “Taiwan Policy Review Project Team,” marking the first time the 2+2 dialogue has been expanded to a “4+4 policy meeting,” DPP Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said.
Since both ruling parties no longer hold the legislative majority, it is important to continue these exchanges and build a substantive framework for bilateral cooperation, he added.
Photo: Tsung Chang-chin, Taipei Times
This year’s session is attended by Kuo and DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷), while representing the LDP are Tsuyoshi Hoshino, chair of the party’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Kazuchika Iwata, director of the LDP’s National Defense Division.
The parties are to discuss disaster prevention, coast guard patrols and undersea cables, Kuo said in his opening remarks.
Today’s discussions would also incorporate national security and cultivating talent for Defense innovation Units, while featuring in-depth talks regarding trade matters, Chen said.
Taiwan and Japan are not only neighboring countries, but also have close and longstanding relations, Hoshino said.
Although some difficulties arose for the LDP this year, Hoshino said he still elected to visit Taiwan, as bilateral discussions and cooperation between the ruling parties are of the utmost importance.
Iwata said he hopes the session would promote further exchanges in economics and trade, disaster prevention and talent training.
However, most important is that Japan and Taiwan continue to work together to ensure peace and stability in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, using this as a framework to promote further cooperation and exchanges, he added.
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