Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday called for a leaders’ summit or a foreign ministers’ meeting between his country and China as soon as possible, drawing a cool reaction from Beijing, which accused Japan of lacking sincerity.
Sino-Japanese ties, often fragile, have been seriously strained since September when a territorial row flared over tiny islands in the East China Sea which Taiwan also claims. Concerns that the conservative Japanese leader wants to recast Japan’s wartime history with a less apologetic tone have added to the tensions.
“I think there should be a summit meeting and also a foreign ministers meeting as soon as possible ... I think such meetings should be held without pre-conditions,” Abe said in response to a question at an academic conference in Singapore.
Photo: Reuters
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its door was always open for talks, but that the problem lay in Japan’s attitude.
“The crux of the matter at present is Japan’s unwillingness to face up to the serious problems which exist in Sino-Japan relations, and it is avoiding having earnest talks and consultations with China,” the ministry said in a statement faxed to Reuters.
Japan, it said, should “stop using empty slogans about so-called dialogue to gloss over disagreements.”
Earlier yesterday, the Japanese Defense Ministry issued a policy report repeating Japanese concerns about China’s military build-up and its activities near the islands.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it hoped Japan would respect the concerns of neighboring countries and “take the path of peaceful development and not artificially create and exaggerate tensions.”
The policy report called for an increase in the country’s military capabilities and a more assertive role in regional security due to increased threats from China and North Korea.
If implemented, some of the changes outlined by the interim Defense Ministry paper would be a major shift in policy for a military that is currently limited to self-defense and is banned from operating in overseas combat zones under a pacifist constitution.
The paper said Japan should increase its surveillance capability and consider using drones, or unmanned surveillance vehicles, capable of wide-range, high-altitude monitoring around the clock.
The paper also proposed creating a marine force with amphibious functions to defend disputed islands in the East China Sea. It said the Japan-US security alliance remains “the cornerstone” of Japan’s defense policy and urged Japan to step up its ability to respond to ballistic missile attacks amid concerns about North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.
A final report is expected at the end of this year.
On Friday, four ships from China’s newly formed civilian coast guard entered what Japan considers its territorial waters near the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands and as the Diaoyu (釣魚) in China, but left the area later without incident.
Abe also met with US Vice President Joe Biden in Singapore, after which the US restated its wish for tensions to subside.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS