0The peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is extremely important to Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in their first in-person talks, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The remarks came as US President Joe Biden prepared to meet Xi for the last time as president.
Ishiba and Xi agreed to work to expand cultural exchanges and continue high-level dialogue on the economy, Tokyo and Beijing said after the talks on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru.
Photo: AFP
Relations between Japan and China have worsened as Beijing builds up its military capacity in the region and Tokyo boosts security ties with the US and its allies.
Ishiba “conveyed serious concerns over the Chinese military’s growing activity” to Xi, the Japanese foreign ministry said.
He stressed that “the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is extremely important to Japan and the international community, while also expressing serious concerns over the situation surrounding the South China Sea, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan in the past few years, while also pressing its sweeping territorial claims in the East and South China Seas more stridently.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Ishiba’s remarks.
International security and prosperity are based on the continued peace and stability in the Strait, and Taiwan welcomes democratic countries seeking to maintain safety in the region, it said in a statement.
As a responsible country within the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan would continue to bolster its self-defense capabilities and work with like-minded partners, such as the US and Japan, to uphold the rules-based international order and foster freedom, peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and the global community, it added.
At APEC, Ishiba also met outgoing US President Joe Biden and held trilateral talks with Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.
“We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo” in Asia-Pacific waters, the three leaders said in a joint statement, without mentioning China directly.
“We steadfastly oppose the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels and coercive activities in the South China Sea,” it said.
Biden and Xi were yesterday expected to huddle on the sidelines of the summit for their first talks in seven months.
Washington is incensed by a recent China-linked hack of the telephone communications of US government and presidential campaign officials, and it is anxious about increasing pressure by Beijing on Taiwan and Chinese support for Russia.
President William Lai (賴清德) is planning to stop in Hawaii and perhaps Guam on a sensitive visit that is sure to anger Beijing in the coming weeks.
At the same time, Beijing’s economy is taking a stiff hit from Biden’s steps on trade, including a plan to restrict US investment in Chinese artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors, and export restrictions on high-end computer chips.
All of those topics are expected to figure into the talks, US officials said.
Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li and Reuters
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