President Tsai seeks Japan security cooperation
ROC Central News Agency
07/28/2022 02:51 PM
Taipei, July 28 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Thursday told a visiting Japanese parliamentarian delegation that Taiwan looked forward to working with Japan on efforts to maintain the stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
In live streamed remarks made ahead of a closed-door meeting with the delegation led by former Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Tsai said Taiwan would work with Japan and other democratic partners to contribute to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
The security of Taiwan is important not only in terms of protecting the country's sovereignty but also the defensively strategic "first island chain," a maritime chain of U.S.-friendly territories such as Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Ishiba, who arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday, said his four-day trip aimed at fostering exchanges with Taiwanese officials on how Japan and Taiwan should collaborate on security matters.
Ishiba emphasized the importance of "preparing to avoid an emergency in this area," adding that he looked forward to exchanging opinions on specific measures for cooperation and building a common understanding between Japan and Taiwan.
The four-member delegation also includes another former Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, as well as Akihisa Nakashima, a former deputy defense chief, and Takayuki Shimizu.
According to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), all four delegates are members of a Japanese parliamentarian association on security issues jointly founded by Ishiba and Hamada in November 2019.
Ishiba, who served as defense minister from 2007-2008, said that Japan had responsibility for the stability of the Asia-Pacific region and that it was an issue that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had paid special attention to while he was alive.
It was regrettable that the former prime minister was unable to continue his work, Ishiba said, adding that he wished to carry on what was left unfinished by Abe and actively work on regional security affairs.
Abe died on July 8 at the age of 67, hours after being shot twice by a makeshift shotgun while campaigning for Japan's upper house elections on a street in Nara, near Osaka.
The Japanese longest-serving prime minister was viewed by many in Taipei as a staunch supporter of Taiwan.
After stepping down in September 2020, Abe began calling on Japan and the U.S. to abandon a policy of "strategic ambiguity" in favor of unequivocally committing to a military defense of Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
Last December, he was also quoted by Kyodo News as the first Japanese leader to say "a Taiwan contingency is a contingency for Japan."
In addition to meeting Tsai, the Japanese delegation also met with Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) earlier in the day and will meet with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) at the Executive Yuan in the afternoon.
(By Teng Pei-ju)
Enditem/ASG
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