Biden and Kishida boost their cooperation on Taiwan, weapons and semiconductors during their meeting in Washington

14 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, have promised to increase their cooperation to preserve the ‘status quo’ in Taiwan, negotiated the sale of arms and reiterated their willingness to preserve the chain of international supply of semiconductors during the meeting held between the two in Washington DC

“We emphasize that our basic positions on Taiwan remain unchanged,” both leaders said in a joint statement at the end of their meeting, in which they ratified their support for the independence of the territory with respect to China’s sovereignist ambitions.

Faced with the constant incursions of Chinese Army planes and ships into the Taiwanese security zone, Biden and Kishida are committed to encouraging “the peaceful resolution of problems across the (Taiwan) Strait.”

Kishida and Biden “reiterate the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community,” according to the statement.

In this regard, the two leaders have also pledged to increase their collaboration to “secure the supply chains of semiconductors”, a huge part of which are manufactured in Taiwan, to counter China’s economic influence in the region.

Likewise, Kishida has transferred in person to Biden the Japanese government’s plan to allocate 211.3 billion yen (about 1.5 billion euros) in the initial budget for fiscal year 2023, part of its new defensive strategy, to acquire Tomahawk cruise missiles. long-range missiles made in the US, Japanese government sources have confirmed, on condition of anonymity, to the official Japanese news agency Kyodo.

Turning to historical grievances, Biden reaffirmed the “United States’ commitment to immediate resolution” of North Korea’s unsolved abductions of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, while reiterating his commitment to achieve the “total denuclearization” of Pyongyang.

Finally, Kishida and Biden expressed their “firm opposition to Russia’s brutal and unfair war of aggression against Ukraine”, before reiterating that Japan and the United States will continue to impose sanctions on Moscow.