Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida yesterday said that his country, the Philippines and the US were cooperating to protect the freedom of the South China Sea as he committed to help enhance Manila’s security capabilities, a day after Washington and Beijing held “candid” talks on maritime issues.
“In the South China Sea, trilateral cooperation to protect the freedom of the sea is under way,” Kishida, on an official visit, said in an address before the Philippine Congress in the capital, Manila.
Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr agreed on Friday to start negotiations on a reciprocal troop access deal to enhance military cooperation as China becomes increasingly assertive in the region.
Photo: AFP
The Philippines and Japan, two of the US’ closest Asian allies, have taken a strong line against what they see as aggressive behavior by Chinese vessels amid decades-old disputes over maritime sovereignty.
Last month China and the Philippines traded accusations over a collision in the disputed waters of the South China Sea as Chinese vessels blocked Philippine boats supplying forces there.
Although Tokyo does not have any claim to the South China Sea, it has a maritime dispute with Beijing in the East China Sea.
“Japan will continue to contribute to the enhancement of the Philippines’ security capabilities, thereby contributing to regional peace and stability,” Kishida said.
Japan in March observed US-Philippine military drills, and in June the Philippine and Japanese coast guards trained together for the first time.
“Through these efforts, let us protect the maritime order, which is governed by laws and rules, not by force,” said Kishida, who in December last year unveiled Japan’s biggest military buildup as it looks to counter China’s growing military might.
Kishida said that Japan agreed to provide the Philippines with coastal surveillance radars, the first cooperation project under its Official Security Assistance program, aimed at helping boost deterrence capabilities of Tokyo’s partner countries.
The radars are to be placed in five areas along the Philippines coast, Kyodo News reported yesterday, citing an unnamed Japanese senior government official.
The report said the radars would be a fixed type and used by the Philippine Navy for coastal surveillance, but did not give further details on where the radars would be placed.
The US Department of State on Friday said that US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs Mark Lambert and Chinese Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs Director-General Hong Liang (洪亮) discussed maritime issues in Beijing, with the US underscoring its concerns about “dangerous and unlawful” Chinese actions.
“The two sides held substantive, constructive and candid discussions on a range of maritime issues, including the situation in the South China Sea and East China Sea,” the US State Department said in a statement.
The US side reiterated the need to resume military-to-military channels, “to avoid miscommunication and miscalculation,” it said.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
RSS