Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida yesterday told Asian leaders that ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was important for regional security, and that China is increasingly escalating tensions in the region.
Addressing the ASEAN summit in Cambodia, Kishida voiced “serious concern” over the human rights situation of the Uighur people, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
“There has been continued, increasing actions by China in the East China Sea that violate Japan’s sovereignty. China also continues to take actions that heighten regional tension in the South China Sea,” the statement quoted Kishida as saying.
Photo: AP
A day earlier, Kishida also underlined the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait at the summit, Tokyo Broadcasting System TV reported.
Kishida was concerned about China “trying to change the status quo with military force and carrying out economic threats,” it reported, adding that this was the first time the prime minister has discussed Taiwan-related issues at an ASEAN summit.
To help ASEAN member nations revive their economies after the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan promised to provide loans totaling ¥29.5 billion (US$212.5 million).
Photo: AFP
The loans were announced in part due to Beijing’s growing economic clout among ASEAN member countries, the report said.
Kishida hopes to invest in high-quality infrastructure in these countries to extend Japan’s influence and win support in the event of a conflict breaking out across the Taiwan Strait, the report said.
Yesterday, Kishida, US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed a unified, coordinated response to North Korea’s threatening nuclear and ballistic missile programs, with Biden declaring that their three-way partnership is “even more important than it’s ever been” as the North is stepping up its provocations.
The three leaders met separately before sitting down together on the sidelines of the summit in Cambodia.
The meeting was heavily focused on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s recent escalations, although Biden said that they would also discuss strengthening supply chains and preserving peace across the Taiwan Strait, while building on the countries’ support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
Biden had also planned to seek input from Kishida and Yoon on managing China’s assertive posture in the Pacific region.
“We face real challenges, but our countries are more aligned than ever, more prepared to take on those challenges than ever,” Biden said. “So I look forward to deepening the bonds of cooperation between our three countries.”
Yoon and Kishida discussed the ongoing displays of aggression by North Korea, which has fired dozens of missiles in the past few weeks.
The launches include an intercontinental ballistic missile 10 days ago that triggered evacuation alerts in northern Japan, and the allies have warned of a looming risk that the isolated country might conduct its seventh nuclear test in the coming weeks.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue