Japan and the US yesterday called for strengthening their alliance as Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attended a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
The tiny island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean lies about 1,250km from Tokyo and was the scene of five weeks of brutal combat between Japanese and US forces in World War II.
“I’d like to pay my respects to the souls of those who fought for our country on Iwo Jima and renew our pledge to peace,” Ishiba said at the joint Japan-US memorial service on the island.
Photo: AFP
“I’d also like to reiterate our determination to keep the preciousness of peace in our hearts and to raise the US-Japan alliance, which brings peace and prosperity to the world, to new heights,” he said.
Nearly all of Japan’s 21,000 soldiers were killed, fighting inside a network of tunnels, on Iwo Jima, while the US side had more than 6,800 fatalities.
“The US-Japan alliance shows those brave men of 1945 how yesterday’s enemy has become today’s friend,” Hegseth said. “Our alliance has been and remains the cornerstone of freedom, prosperity, security and peace in the Indo-Pacific, and it will continue.”
An image of US marines raising the Stars and Stripes on the island became one of the most famous photos of World War II, and the battle has inspired numerous books and movies.
The ceremony was about “confirming post-war reconciliation between Japan and the United States and praying for further friendship through joint memorial and tribute activities for the war dead,” the Japanese government said.
It was also attended by Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani, who is due to hold talks with Hegseth in Tokyo today.
Nakatani said that the discussions would touch on “sharing recognition on regional issues” and “measures to further strengthen responsiveness and deterrence.”
Japan and the US are each other’s top foreign investors, and 54,000 US military personnel are stationed in Japan, mostly in Okinawa, east of Taiwan.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a