In a video address on Thursday evening, the President urged the Chinese leadership to exercise common sense and exercise restraint. Taiwan will not escalate tensions but wants to maintain the status quo. Japan and the US stressed their commitment to close cooperation and the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The Taiwanese government is working to smooth the operation of Taiwan’s ports and airports and stabilize financial markets, Tsai Ing-wen said in her speech. The President thanked the G7 group of the seven leading industrial nations together with the European Union for their support. The G7 had expressed concern and stressed that there was no reason to use a visit as a pretext “for aggressive military activities”. China launched the maneuvers on Tuesday in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. It was the highest-ranking visit from the United States in a quarter of a century.
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“Serious Impact on Peace”
Japan and the US want to work closely together in the face of the conflict over Taiwan. It is important to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Pelosi at a meeting in Tokyo on Friday. The day before, five missiles fell in Japan’s exclusive economic zone during maneuvers by the People’s Liberation Army in the waters off Taiwan.
China’s behavior has “serious implications for peace and stability in the region and the international community,” Kishida said, according to Japanese media reports. Pelosi had arrived in Tokyo the night before at the end of her trip to Asia. She had previously held talks in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea.
Video: Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik from the Institute for East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna commented on the conflict between China and Taiwan in the “ZiB Night”:
In response to her visit to Taiwan, China launched the largest military show in decades on Thursday. The muscle flexing is intended to deter Taiwan from any further push for independence. They are also a warning to the US to stay out of the dispute. Japan has refrained from taking an official stance on Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, but is urging a peaceful resolution of the issues through dialogue. After Kishida, Pelosi also wanted to meet the Speaker of the Japanese House of Commons. Japan is a key Washington ally. The USA is also Japan’s protecting power.
Source: Nachrichten
