Taiwan Considers China's Protests About A Meeting With Japanese PM Takaichi Made Up

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Taiwanese representatives at the APEC summit last weekend dismissed protests by China over their meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi there. Taipei confirmed that meeting with the leaders present was "very natural".

China previously filed a strong protest against Japan over a meeting on the sidelines of a summit in South Korea, after Takaichi posted it on his X account and named Taiwanese representative Lin Hsin-i, senior adviser at the presidential office.

Lin, the former minister of economy, told reporters in Taipei that all delegates from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) participated equally and all leaders and representatives chatted with each other.

"There's nothing strange about it. There's a lot of this kind of interaction," he said, when asked about China's anger over the meeting with Takaichi. "We interacted a lot and communicated with many leaders. That's a very normal thing," he continued.

Japan, like most countries, has no formal relations with Taiwan which China claims but is a strong unofficial ally.

APEC is one of the few international meetings Taiwan has followed, even though its president was not present.

Takaichi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to establish a constructive and stable relationship at their meeting at APEC on Friday last week.

Prior to taking office, Takaichi advised Japan to form a "quasi-security alliance" with Taiwan, and said any possibility that would occur there would be a state of emergency for Japan and its ally, the United States.

The Taiwanese government rejects Beijing's claim to the island, saying that only the Taiwanese can determine their future.