TAIPEI • Japan has sent some of its Covid-19 vaccines to Taiwan, which has struggled to procure its own supplies and blames China for impeding shipments of shots.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Japan provided about 1.24 million AstraZeneca doses free of charge. The shipment arrived on a flight yesterday and Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its appreciation.
Mr Motegi said Taiwan has an urgent need for vaccines as the virus spreads and domestic production is not set to be ramped up until next month. "We decided to provide this based on our important partnership with Taiwan and our friendship," he said, adding that many in Japan remember Taiwan was the first to offer support after it was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Donating the vaccines to Taiwan could irritate China, Japan's biggest trading partner, which sees the island as part of its territory and has stepped up military exercises in the region recently.
The donation is a triumph for Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who has faced public anger about the slow vaccine arrival and protests by the main opposition Kuomintang party outside her office.
In an online broadcast from her office, Ms Tsai called on people to understand Taiwan was not alone in facing challenges getting vaccines, with global supplies tight.
"Taiwan's international situation is very difficult. Even before vaccines are loaded onto the aircraft, there may be variables."
Ms Tsai and her party blame China for scuttling an earlier order of millions of Pfizer-BioNTech shots, although Beijing has rejected the accusation.
China's Foreign Ministry lashed out at Taipei yesterday.
"The Taiwan authorities out of their own selfish political gains have engaged in political manipulation on vaccine issues," ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Japan approved the AstraZeneca vaccine last month following domestic testing, but put its use on hold over blood clot concerns. The government has enough supplies of other shots to cover its own population and on Wednesday hosted a summit aimed at accelerating vaccination efforts.
Taiwan has received only about 860,000 vaccine doses, despite ordering over 20 million shots, mainly from AstraZeneca, and a smaller number from Moderna. It is developing its own vaccines too.
Taipei has so far been unable to directly obtain Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines from Chinese drugmaker Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, which has a deal to distribute them in the greater China region including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
