Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is likely to drive more concern than hope in Beijing as rumors swirl that he would appoint pro-Taiwan figures to his Cabinet, academics said at a forum in Taipei yesterday.
Last week, Japan’s ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), elected Ishiba as its party leader, who is set to be named the country’s new prime minister today by the National Diet.
There are rumors that Ishida would appoint several pro-Taiwan figures to his Cabinet, and that Taiwan-Japan relations would continue to develop, political scientist Hsieh Wen-sheng (謝文生) told a forum hosted by the Institute for National Policy Research on the LDP’s leadership election and Ishiba’s policy priorities.
Photo: Kyodo via Reuters
Event speakers included Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中), Executive Yuan advisor Nozaki Takao, and other academics and experts.
In his speech, Wu said that Taiwan defends peace and security in the Taiwan Strait and values being a friend to the international community, as it does not engage in aggression or seek to make enemies.
Wu said that during his time as Taiwan’s representative to France, he saw first-hand the international support Taiwan receives and the cooperation between Taiwan and the Japanese embassy in Paris.
The recent Japan-France Foreign and Defense Ministers’ Meeting, also known as the “2+2,” and the first transit of a Japanese ship in the Taiwan Strait since World War II demonstrates the importance of maintaining regional peace, he said.
American and South Korean attitudes toward Japan would remain unchanged, but with the prospect of a strong Taiwan-Japan relationship, China would likely continue to express concern, Hsieh said.
It would be important to observe the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Peru next month and the G20 Summit in Brazil, both of which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is expected to attend, Hsieh added.
A potential Ishiba-Xi summit would be a focal point of attention, he added.
The Coast Guard Administration and the Japan Coast Guard in July conducted their first joint search-and-rescue drill, National Taiwan Normal University professor Fan Shih-ping (范世平) said.
As a former Japanese minister of defense, Ishiba is well-versed in security issues and supports the establishment of an “Asian NATO” and a legal framework for Taiwan-Japan relations, Fan said.
Defense cooperation between Taiwan, Japan and the US would likely deepen, and there might even be a Japanese version of the US’ Taiwan Relations Act, he added.
Ishiba’s proposed “Asian NATO” would bring together existing diplomatic and security agreements, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue — a grouping of Australia, Japan, India and the US — and the AUKUS security pact between the US, the UK and Australia, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the state-run Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
The rapid growth of China’s influence and power relative to the US in the region drove Ishiba’s statements regarding the need to establish an Asian defense treaty organization, he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by