President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Tuesday met with a delegation of Japan's National Diet focused on security issues, led by former Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The meeting highlighted concerns over regional security and the importance of strengthening ties between democratic nations.
Lai noted the growing strength of the relationship between Japan and Taiwan in the face of global challenges, particularly the threat to peace posed by China’s rising influence in the Indo-Pacific region. He also expressed hope that Japan would support Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Lai further outlined Taiwan’s four-pillar plan for peace. The four pillars include enhancing deterrence and defense capabilities, strengthening economic security and resilience, deepening democratic partnerships to deter authoritarian threats, and maintaining “steady and principled” cross-strait leadership. Lai also expressed Taiwan's willingness to engage with China under principles of mutual respect, aiming to maintain regional peace.
Shigeru Ishiba, in his address, drew parallels between the ongoing war in Ukraine and potential future threats in Northeast Asia. He stressed the urgency of preventing such a scenario, noting that the failure to deter Russia had led to the current conflict in Ukraine. Ishiba agreed with President Lai's call for like-minded nations to strengthen their deterrence capabilities to preserve regional peace and stability and expressed a desire to better understand President Lai's perspective on the matter.
