Collaboration between the militaries of Taiwan and Japan is essential, and both sides should establish mechanisms to facilitate internal dialogue, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said on Friday.
Lai made the remarks at a seminar hosted by the East-Asian Research Association at the Okura Prestige Hotel in Taipei.
Tensions around the north Pacific region and the Ukraine war make such cooperation especially urgent, he said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Lai said he agrees with association chairman Katsuko Eguchi, who said in his opening comments that Taiwan and Japan can help facilitate peace within the region and around the world.
Taiwan and Japan are both on the first island chain, which brings pressure from authoritarian regimes in the region, such as China and North Korea, Lai said.
Lai quoted former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, when he said: “A Taiwan emergency is Japanese emergency.”
The statement was made not just out of friendship, but out of mutual concern about the encroachment of authoritarianism, Lai said.
Taiwan and Japan must work together to bolster mutual economic safety and ensure the completion of a new supply chain network in the region, he said.
Both must work to protect democratic values, as deterring the encroachment of authoritarianism is not a choice between war and peace, Lai said.
Siding with democracy is upholding world peace, he added.
Taiwan and Japan working together to bolster national defense is not aggression, and is not just for wartime capabilities, but for preventing conflict and ensuring that the countries can develop and prosper in peace, Lai said.
Protecting world peace benefits all nations, as there are no winners in war, he said.
Lai said Taiwan and Japan should establish a system to facilitate direct dialogue between the two countries’ militaries and increase collaboration.
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