US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday reiterated the importance of cross-strait peace and stability during their first-ever trilateral summit at the White House in Washington.
“We affirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity, recognize that there is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and call for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues,” the leaders said in a joint statement.
Taiwan welcomes the statement of concern and steadfast support for peace and stability across the Strait from the heads of state of the US, Japan and the Philippines, Presidential Office spokesperson Olivia Lin (林聿禪) said in Taipei.
Photo: Reuters
The joint statement showed that an international consensus has formed on protecting peace amid expanding authoritarianism that threatens global security and order, she said.
Taiwan will continue to build up its self-defense capabilities and cooperate with like-minded countries to safeguard the rules-based international order and contribute to global peace, stability and prosperity, Lin said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that Taiwan is a responsible international actor willing to collaborate with the three nations on maintaining peace, stability and prosperity across the Indo-Pacific region.
The trilateral summit cemented the US-Japan-Philippines joint security mechanism, which forms part of a larger defense network against China, Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the Taipei- based Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told a forum in Taipei.
He cited discussions between Biden and Kishida on what is being called the greatest upgrade to the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the US and Japan since 1960, which would see the two countries engage in more coordinated command between US forces stationed in Japan and the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
This security network can operate in tandem with existing US-UK-Australia and US-Japan-South Korea security mechanisms to form a comprehensive regional security network against China, Su said.
Liao Hsiao-chuan (廖小娟), an associate professor of political science at National Taiwan University, said the trilateral summit marked Japan’s ascent from a regional ally to a global partner of the US’ global security strategy.
The summit also hinted at a potential growth of the US-led security framework in the region, as a strengthened Japan might provide a much-needed counterweight to China and North Korea should the US become isolationist by electing Donald Trump as president, she said.
The alliance between the US, Japan and the Philippines would be strong because of their shared interests in democratic values and the freedom of navigation in the region, said Hsiao Hsiu-an (蕭琇安), an associate research fellow at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations.
However, Institute for National Policy Research senior adviser Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that the US’ efforts to shore up the Indo-Pacific is more remedial than suggestive of a military alliance.
Taiwan can find cause for caution in Washington’s flawed security strategy, inability to counter China’s “gray zone” tactics and Trump, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
SOLUTIONS NEEDED: Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers due to population decline, the minister of economic affairs said in Washington President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration is considering a plan to import labor to deal with an impending shortage of engineers and other highly skilled workers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in Washington on Tuesday. Kuo was leading a delegation attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers for high-end manufacturing jobs by 2040, he said. Ministry of Economic Affairs officials are still calculating the precise number of workers that are needed, as it works on loosening immigration restrictions and creating incentives, Kuo said. Taiwanese firms operating factories in the US and other countries would