logo
Beijing protests over former Japanese military chief's Taiwan adviser role

Beijing protests over former Japanese military chief's Taiwan adviser role

Beijing has protested to Tokyo over the appointment of a former Japanese military chief as an adviser to the Taiwanese government.
Advertisement
Taiwanese media reported on Friday that Shigeru Iwasaki, former chief of the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF) and a four-star air force general, had been confirmed as an honorary adviser to the Executive Yuan, the Taiwanese government's highest administrative body.
An official from the Executive Yuan did not give details of the position but was quoted as saying they were 'willing to listen to and promote any administrative proposal [from the adviser] as long as it is beneficial to Taiwan's development'.
The post is unpaid.
01:01
Donald Trump declines to say if US would defend Taiwan against mainland China attack
Donald Trump declines to say if US would defend Taiwan against mainland China attack
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning repeated Beijing's position that Taiwan was an inseparable part of China and any external interference on this issue would not be tolerated.
Advertisement

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump muses about regime change in Iran after US strikes
Trump muses about regime change in Iran after US strikes

South China Morning Post

time27 minutes ago

  • South China Morning Post

Trump muses about regime change in Iran after US strikes

US President Donald Trump on Sunday signalled support for a change in leadership in Iran, hours after his officials said that the US operation targeting Iranian nuclear facilities overnight was not about a regime change in Tehran. Advertisement 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???' Trump stated on his Truth Social platform. Earlier on Sunday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told journalists at the Pentagon that the overnight strike on the nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow was carried out to eliminate the threat to US interests posed by Iran's nuclear programme, not to bring about regime change in Tehran. 'The president authorised a precision operation to neutralise the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear programme and the collective self-defence of our troops and our ally Israel,' Hegseth said. 01:23 China urges de-escalation of Iran conflict, hits out at US and Israel China urges de-escalation of Iran conflict, hits out at US and Israel US Vice-President J.D. Vance also emphasised that Iran's nuclear programme was the target. 'We are not at war with Iran, we are at war with Iran's nuclear programme,' he told NBC on Sunday.

Seoul's Lee and Tokyo's Ishiba off to a surprisingly warm start
Seoul's Lee and Tokyo's Ishiba off to a surprisingly warm start

Asia Times

time3 hours ago

  • Asia Times

Seoul's Lee and Tokyo's Ishiba off to a surprisingly warm start

Attendees at a reception last week by the South Korean Embassy at Tokyo's New Otani Hotel, held to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan, were pleasantly surprised when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba showed up to deliver a warm address. He was followed by former prime ministers Fumio Kishida and Yoshihide Suga and accompanied by a host of Japanese dignitaries. The celebratory mood reflected the view in Japan following the meeting between newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Ishiba at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit. That meeting was marked by not only cordiality but also a clear mutual desire to tighten cooperation. Unspoken, but implicit, was the shared interest that both leaders have in countering the growing chaos in global affairs, from trade wars to actual wars, and their growing sense that the South Korea-Japan partnership is an effective response to the advent of Donald Trump's America-First regime. 'We have an inseparable relationship, like neighbors who share the same garden,' Lee said. 'Even if we have small differences of opinion, I hope we can develop a relationship in which we cooperate and help each other in various areas.' While the two governments continue to voice support for trilateral cooperation with the United States, it was evident that the real emphasis of their meeting was on bilateral links. 'With difficulties intensifying in terms of the international trade environment and international relations, South Korea and Japan can be of great help to one another when they cooperate in many areas in a relationship that is both close and complementary.' Lee reportedly said at the summit meeting. Contrary to some expectations, Lee went out of his way to dispel the idea that he is bound to a hostile view toward Japan. He emphasized building a stable and respectful relationship as the two countries neared the sixtieth anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations on June 22. Lee has by no means abandoned a critical view of Japan's colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula and the ongoing problems of apology and compensation for abuses, including sexual slavery and forced labor. 'We cannot dwell on the past,' Lee said in an interview with Time Magazine before the presidential election. 'But Japan continues to deny its history and does not sincerely apologize, which hurts us Koreans.' But Lee also called for separating those issues from the need for cooperation, particularly in dealing with common issues such as trade wars and challenges from China, Russia, and even North Korea. This 'two-track' approach is reminiscent of the progressive Roh Moo-hyun administration from 2003 to 2008. President Roh proclaimed a commitment to a pragmatic handling of ties with Japan while retaining a critical view of Japan's past. Former Korean Ambassador to Japan Shin Kak-soo hinted he was cautiously optimistic about the new South Korean president's initial approach. 'For the time being, it is true that the Lee Jae Myung government has shifted gear in handling the thorny bilateral ties with Tokyo drastically, given his past record of words and deeds that had been strongly anti-Japanese,' he told this writer in an email. 'I hope that he and his administration will keep this path for a long time.' This mirrors the view in Japan, where cautious optimism is widely shared – particularly in official circles. 'Lee has made an amiable debut in Japanese eyes that contradicts prior expectations,' a veteran Japanese journalist for the liberal Asahi Shimbun , with deep experience in foreign affairs, told this writer. As he recounted, officials in the prime minister's office told Japanese journalists that they were pleasantly surprised by Lee's behavior during his first meeting with Ishiba, including the wide smile that Lee flashed in official photos. 'They took it a sign that the Korean general sentiment to Japan has improved so much as to let Lee feel safe performing diplomatically in public with a Japanese leader,' the Asahi journalist said. 'There is a little bit of wishful assessment probably, but I sense that Lee's slogan 'pragmatic diplomacy' started well.' According to this analysis, what happened in Canada was assisted by Trump and his rather abrupt and rude departure from the summit. 'In that sense, as a short-term effect, Trump's arrogance resulted in bringing about a favorable mood between South Korea and Japan,' the Japanese diplomatic correspondent told this author. 'Trump's arrogance resulted in bringing about a favorable mood between South Korea and Japan.' a japanese diplomatic correspondent Along with the Trump effect, there is evidence of a growing convergence of public opinion in both countries, particularly due to the perception of shared external threat from China, North Korea, and Russia. A recent joint poll by Japan's Asahi Shimbun and South Korea's Dong A Ilbo showed support for strengthening defense cooperation in both countries. Compared with a similar poll conducted at the time of the fiftieth anniversary, there was a clear upswing in positive views of each other, reflecting growing cultural, economic, and other ties – a product in part of the massive flow of tourists between the two countries and the impact of the popular Korean wave in Japan. Still, South Korean and Japanese citizens remain far apart on certain issues. In the joint poll, respondents were asked about historical issues arising out of Japan's colonization of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. In Japan, opinions were evenly split: 46% of respondents said the issues had been 'resolved,' while the same percentage of respondents said they had 'not been resolved.' In contrast, only 17% of Koreans said the issues had been 'resolved,' still up from 2% a decade ago, while 80% said they had 'not been resolved,' a slight drop from 95% in the previous poll. The Roh Moo-hyun presidency offers grounds for caution about the future course of the relationship. Roh began his term with similar goals of separating history from future relations, while simultaneously insisting that Japan confront its past. But within a year, a series of issues sent the relationship spiraling into deep discord, including conflicts over the competing territorial claims, Japanese textbook revisions, and the Japanese prime minister's continued visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. Lee Jong-seok, who served as Roh's national security advisor and has returned as head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) under Lee, recounted this spiral in his memoir. 'Throughout its tenure, the administration could not find a point of diplomatic balance with Japan over the history issue. Each time history became a topic, ROK-Japanese relations lurched,' Lee Jong-seok wrote. 'We are still living in a time when all our citizens are victims of the Japanese empire.' He added: 'There was no room for future-oriented ROK policy toward Japan as long as Japan constantly tried to legitimize its history of aggression.' That danger could easily resurface, argues Ambassador Shin, who remains an active player in 1.5-track diplomacy between the two countries. 'We should not forget that there lurk many diverse landmines ahead in our sensitive bilateral ties,' Shin told this writer. 'President Lee should not repeat President Roh's mistake that he vowed not to raise history issues at his inauguration, but made an about-face abruptly in his mid-term.' Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba also has work to do to avoid this outcome. This includes gestures and steps to reassure South Koreans that he is also ready to face the past. He could use the upcoming anniversaries, such as the eightieth anniversary of the end of World War II, and strongly restate Japan's apologies to urging Japanese companies to contribute to the South Korean fund to compensate wartime forced laborers. For that, Ishiba must deal with his own domestic political challenges – a right-wing faction of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party that opposes such moves and his own weak minority government facing a crucial test in elections for the upper house of the National Diet in July. 'Ishiba has signaled an interest in a more constructive relationship with South Korea in the past, based on a more forthright reckoning with Imperial Japan's conduct on the Korean peninsula,' observes Tobias Harris, founder of the political risk firm Japan Foresight. 'But the LDP's right wing still makes it difficult to be overly solicitous of South Korea without facing domestic resistance.' Harris adds: 'While a victory in the upper house elections will not make this resistance disappear, it may give him more space to express his own views – in remarks on the anniversary of the end of the war, for example. In general, other things being equal, if Ishiba can hold power instead of a more right-wing alternative, it's positive for the bilateral relationship.' Ultimately, external events may shape whether relations deepen or fray. From North Korean belligerence to Trumpist isolationism and chaos, developments beyond South Korea and Japan are likely to continue driving the two neighbors closer together, whether they like it or not. Daniel C. Sneider is a non-resident Distinguished Fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America and a lecturer in East Asian Studies at Stanford University. This article was originally published by The Peninsula, the newsletter of the Korea Economic Institute of America. It is republished here with permission.

Iran vows payback as Trump hints at regime change
Iran vows payback as Trump hints at regime change

RTHK

time4 hours ago

  • RTHK

Iran vows payback as Trump hints at regime change

Iran on Sunday threatened US bases in the Middle East after massive air strikes that Washington said had destroyed Tehran's nuclear programme, though some officials cautioned that the extent of damage was concern focused on fears that the unprecedented US attacks would deepen conflict in the volatile region after Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran earlier this Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said bases used by US forces could be attacked in retaliation."Any country in the region or elsewhere that is used by American forces to strike Iran will be considered a legitimate target for our armed forces," he said in a message carried by the official IRNA news agency."America has attacked the heart of the Islamic world and must await irreparable consequences."US President Donald Trump urged Iran to end the conflict after he launched surprise strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz."We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the 'bomb' right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!)" he said on social while the US president did not directly advocate regime change in the Islamic republic, he openly played with the idea -- even after his aides stressed that was not a goal of American intervention."It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!"RTHK's Washington correspondent, Simon Marks, said Trump's remarks were certain to spark more speculation about his steps."But all of this... raises a massive question, which is, to what extent is Donald Trump committed to moving forward, possibly with more military action or committed to trying to foment some kind of change on the ground in Tehran?" He told RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme "Certainly, that's what (Israeli) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to do from Israel over the course of the last week. But the Americans have been holding back from that. Now, tonight, perhaps Donald Trump is flirting with the idea of adopting that position."Netanyahu, meanwhile, said his country's military strikes will "finish" once the stated objectives of destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved."We are very, very close to completing them," he told Iran's leaders struck defiant tones, President Masoud Pezeshkian also vowed that the United States would "receive a response" to the Khamenei adviser, Ali Shamkhani, said in a post on X that "even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn't over, enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, political will remain."Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but no one had been able to assess the underground added that attacks on nuclear facilities could cause radiation leaks, but the IAEA had not detected any. (Additional reporting by AFP)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store