Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) has called for Japan to engage in a security dialogue with Taiwan, as both nations have come under military pressure and threats from China.
In an interview with the Sankei Shimbun published yesterday, Wu called for Taiwan and Japan to initiate a security dialogue, saying that ensuring security is a shared responsibility of the two nations.
The newspaper called Wu’s call a rare move, as Taiwan has no diplomatic relations with Japan.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Taiwan is looking forward to exchanges of views with Japan on ensuring security in light of increased activity by China’s armed forces in the Western Pacific in recent years and the threat it poses to both nations, Wu said.
Citing the close US-Taiwan security cooperation as an example, Wu said the lack of diplomatic ties with Japan should not be a hindrance to a security dialogue.
He also said that visits to Taiwan by high-ranking officials from the US administration have increased in frequency, while the administration of US President Donald Trump in June last year approved the sale of US$1.42 billion of arms to Taiwan.
The report said that after the US cut official diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979, then-US president Jimmy Carter signed the Taiwan Relations Act into law later that year, laying the legal foundation for security talks between the US and Taiwan.
There have been US military attaches assigned to the American Institute in Taiwan’s Taipei office since 2005, the report said.
In contrast, after Japan ended diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1972, there has been a lack of legal foundation for exchanges between the two nations, the report said, adding that unofficial relations have only managed to bring about the appointment of one retired Japanese defense official to the Taipei office of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft