Taiwan and Japan ruling parties to hold first security talks

TAIPEI • Taiwan and Japan's ruling parties will hold security talks for the first time later this week, a Taiwanese lawmaker said, as the neighbours fret about China's increasing military threats.

The announcement of the talks was condemned by Beijing, which claims self-ruled Taiwan and opposes countries having official contact with Taipei.

Two lawmakers each from Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will hold a virtual talk tomorrow, dubbed a "two-plus-two" security meeting.

"This is the first dialogue of its kind initiated by the Japanese side and we will be discussing diplomacy, defence and regional security," DPP lawmaker Lo Chih-cheng said yesterday.

The talks will address regional security concerns including China, added Mr Lo, who also heads the DPP's international affairs department.

Mr Masahisa Sato, a parliamentarian in charge of foreign affairs for the LDP, told the Financial Times that the dialogue was a substitute for ministerial talks as Japan officially recognises Beijing over Taipei.

The talks were necessary as Taiwan's future would have a "serious impact" on Japan, he said. "That is how important we feel the situation in Taiwan is at the moment," he told the newspaper, adding that "higher-level talks with Taiwanese government officials" will be planned in the future.

China hit out at the summit, saying that it opposed "any form of official interaction" with Taiwan.

"The Taiwan issue touches on the political foundation of China-Japan relations... (Japan) should be especially cautious in its words and deeds," warned foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

Beijing has ramped up diplomatic, military and economic pressure on Taiwan in recent years.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE