Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday underlined Tokyo's concern over the EU's plans to lift an arms embargo on China at a summit with European leaders in Luxembourg, while in Manila, Japan's defense minister agreed to expand cooperation with the Philippines.
The EU's presidency insisted that ending the 16-year-old ban, slapped on Beijing after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, would not threaten security in the region.
Koizumi, speaking after the talks, said he believed the 25-member bloc understands Tokyo's opposition to the plans.
"I did express our concern and I think ... Japan's concern is very well understood," he said in a joint press conference with EU leaders including EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
He added that the EU had made clear to him that, "while fully understanding the concerns of Japan, [it] should like to deal with the matter so that it would not lead to a problem."
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, reiterated that the bloc hopes to reach an agreement on lifting the plan by the end of June.
But he also underlined that a lifting of the arms embargo would have "no material consequences" -- an apparent reference to any increase in arms sales to China.
"We are in the process of discussing the subject with our closest partners, that means Japan [and] the United States," he said. "We take very seriously the observations made by both Japan and the US.
"The intention of the EU if it reaches an accord on lifting the embargo is not to develop arms exports to China in a way that would [increase] the security concerns regularly mentioned by our partners," he said.
In Manila, defense ministers from the Philippines and Japan agreed to expand cooperation, especially in the areas of maritime security, disaster management and counter-terrorism.
Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz and visiting Japanese Defense Minister Yoshinori Ohno also agreed to develop a mechanism wherein they can meet annually to discuss security issues.
"The first step is to develop a mechanism for an annual continuation of the political security dialogue and the frequency of the exchange of visits between senior and middle level officers," Cruz said after meeting with Ohno who was in Manila for an overnight visit.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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