Fri, Jan 13, 2023 page1

• US, Japan reiterate Taipei stance, underline peace

  ‘GRAVE CONCERN’: Beijing’s provocative actions in the South China Sea is an ‘unprecedented’ challenge for the US and Japan, Tokyo’s foreign minister said

  • Staff writer, with CNA, WASHINGTON
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  The US and Japan on Wednesday said their position on Taiwan remains unchanged, and reiterated the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait for the world.

  The statement came after the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee met in Washington, before US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishido meet today.

  The security meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi and Japanese Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada covered topics such as the US-Japan alliance, the situation in the Taiwan Strait, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korean missile launches.

  

  Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa, left, shakes hands with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a news conference on the outcomes of the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting at the US Department of State in Washington on Wednesday.

  Photo: EPA-EFE

  Yoshima told a post-meeting news conference that the participants reaffirmed that their position on Taiwan remains unchanged.

  They also confirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Strait, which is essential for the safety and prosperity of the international community, Yoshima said.

  The countries reiterated their stance in a joint statement released after the meeting.

  The participants agreed that China’s provocative and coercive actions in the South China Sea, as well as unlawful claims on islands there, pose an “unprecedented and greatest strategic challenge” for the two countries, Yoshima said.

  The US and Japan would continue to raise objections to China’s attempts to reshape the international order, which is a grave concern for the US-Japan alliance, he said.

  The participants also agreed that there have not been any changes to their policies to improve communication with China, including in the area of security, Yoshimasa said.

  Asked about efforts to deter China from unilaterally changing the cross-strait “status quo,” Blinken said that the US-Japan alliance intends to bolster the “status quo,” which has underpinned peace and stability in the Strait for decades.

  The US and Japan oppose any actions to unilaterally change that “status quo,” and would continue to call for a calm and resolute approach to uphold peace and stability, he said.

  When asked whether he still holds the view he expressed in October last year that he did not see an imminent invasion of Taiwan by China, Austin said he seriously doubts that China would imminently invade Taiwan, despite a recent increase in Chinese military activity around the nation.

  China has demonstrated some “very provocative” behavior near Taiwan in an attempt to “establish a new normal,” but it is doubtful that this endeavor would precipitate an invasion, Austin said.

  “We will continue to watch and we will continue to work with our allies and partners to do everything that we can to ensure that we promote peace and stability in the Strait and — and in the region overall,” he said.

  The US also said that attacks in space would invoke its defense treaty with Japan and announced the deployment of a more agile Marine unit on its ally’s soil as alarm grows over China.

  The joint statement said that “attacks to, from or within space present a clear challenge to the security of the alliance” that could invoke Article 5 of their mutual defense treaty, which considers an attack on one an attack on both.

  The talks finalized a plan by the US send a so-called Marine Littoral Regiment, a more agile unit that can operate defenses both by sea and air, to Okinawa, the southern Japanese island strategically close to Taiwan.

  Additional reporting by AFP
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