The Presidential Office yesterday welcomed a joint statement by the US and Japan that underscores their commitment to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The statement, issued by the White House after a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, highlighted the countries’ deepening partnership on defense — including of cyber and space defense — as well as on key technologies, healthcare and the climate.
“We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea. We reiterated our objections to China’s unlawful maritime claims and activities in the South China Sea,” it said.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
“We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. We share serious concerns regarding the human rights situations in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” it added.
The government is glad to see that the US and Japan continue to emphasize the importance of peace and stability in the region, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in a statement yesterday.
Cross-strait relations have become a concern for the Indo-Pacific region and even the world, he said.
Photo: CNA
“We hope that Beijing will fulfill its responsibility ... [and] make positive contributions to regional security and welfare,” he said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has repeatedly said that Taiwan would not succumb to pressure, nor would it make reckless moves, even if it garners more support, Chang added.
Taiwan, the US and Japan share common values in defending freedom, democracy and human rights, as well as common interests in promoting regional security and prosperity, Chang said, pledging to deepen relations with like-minded partners.
Meanwhile, Japanese Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi yesterday on Twitter posted photographs of a meeting with soldiers on Japan’s westernmost populated island of Yonaguni.
The photos show him looking toward Taiwan, although he wrote that he could not see it due to the cloudy weather.
Yonaguni is about 110km from Taiwan, and boosting Japan’s southwestern defense system is very important for Japan, Kishi wrote.
During his visit, he has met with Japanese army, navy and air force members on the island, he added.
Separately, Japan-Republic of China Diet Members’ Consultative Council chairman Keiji Furuya yesterday posted a photo on Twitter of Japan’s national flag hoisted in front of a building.
Japanese Representative to Taiwan Hiroyasu Izumi has defied Beijing’s pressure and raised the flag at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Taipei, Furuya said.
The photograph shows Izumi’s official residence in Taipei’s Yangmingshan area (陽明山), where the envoy started flying the flag in January, the association said.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old
SEA SEARCH: Nine crew members of a cargo ship had taken to the water after the vessel sunk off the southern coast, with a rescue effort under way, officials said The strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in eight years yesterday killed three people and flooded parts of the nation’s second-biggest city, while rescuers were searching for nine sailors after their cargo ship sank in the storm. Typhoon Gaemi transformed streets in Kaohsiung into rivers, with some households flooded. Offices and schools were closed for the second consecutive day, with thousands of people evacuated. Three people died and 380 were injured due to strong winds and torrential rainfall brought by Typhoon Gaemi, the Central Emergency Response Center said. The typhoon made landfall in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) at midnight yesterday and departed Taiwan