Ishiba, Trump Seen Stressing Need for Peace in Taiwan Strait
Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to stress the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement they plan to issue after their summit in Washington on Friday.
The two countries mentioned the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement for the first time in 52 years in April 2021, when then Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and then U.S. President Joe Biden issued it.
The Japanese side aims to share its view on Taiwan also with the Trump administration, which includes many China hardliners.
Ishiba will visit the U.S. capital for three days from Thursday. On Wednesday, he held talks with his predecessor, Fumio Kishida. "I received a variety of advice on security, economy and trade," Ishiba told reporters later.
On Friday, Ishiba will hold a summit and working lunch with Trump at the White House, which will be joined by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.
The planned joint statement is expected to reaffirm that Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. security treaty, which stipulates the U.S. obligation to defend Japan, applies to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are also claimed by China.
The statement is also likely to mention North Korea, which is advancing its nuclear and missile development while stepping up its military cooperation with Russia.
Japan and the United States are also considering including plans to hold a so-called two-plus-two meeting of their foreign and defense ministers at an early date and to realize an early visit to Japan by Trump, informed sources said.
At the summit with Ishiba, it will be closely watched what Trump says on the issues of defense spending and tariffs amid concerns on the Japanese side.
To win Trump's understanding, Ishiba is expected to emphasize Japan's plan to double defense spending to 2 pct of its gross domestic product and the fact that Japanese companies have been the largest investors in the United States over the past five years.
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