2023-03-21
DPP hopes to institutionalize the DPP-LDP 2+2 Diplomacy and Defense Dialogue
Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held the “Dialogue of the Taiwan-Japan Diplomatic and Defense Policy” this morning (March 21). The two parliamentary delegations—on behalf of the two ruling parties—with backgrounds in foreign and defense affairs address recent regional concerns in the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific security to exchange views on important issues of mutual concern.
Peifen Hsieh, DPP Spokesperson and Director of International Affairs Department, said at the opening that this is the first in-person meeting and the third such exchange between the two parties, following the two previous videoconferences “Diplomacy and Defense 2+2” and "Diplomacy and Economic Security 2+2," held in August and December of 2021 respectively. Both parties have long worked hard to promote the institutionalization of the 2+2 dialogue meant to deepen Taiwan-Japan cooperation and partnership.
Attending the dalogue were Legislators Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) from the DPP, as well as the LDP’s Horii Iwao (堀井巖),a member of the House of Councillors and Director of the party’s Foreign Affairs Division and its Deputy Secretary-General, and Kokuba Konosuke (國場幸之助), a member of the House of Representatives and Director of the party’s National Defense Division.
This was the first such dialogue since Vice President Lai Ching-te assumed office as party chairperson. The DPP expressed its gratitude for the continuation of the 2+2 Dialogue first initiated by the LDP. Lo said that among the four lawmakers present, he is the only one who had attended all three dialogues. And he hoped that in the future more lawmakers from both parties could join, enhancing mutual understanding and thereby contributing to the resolution of issues of mutual concern.
The first 2+2 Dialogue since Chairperson Lai took office is of great significance, Kuo said, as the chairperson’s commitment to continued Taiwan-Japan exchanges never wavered, regardless of in what capacity. Kuo looked forward to holding an in-person 2+2 Dialogue in Japan in the future. The DPP is full of expectations for substantive progress in Taiwan-Japan relations. Kuo humorously noted that although Taiwan did not clinch the finals of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), he is willing to pull for Japan. He hopes that when the talk concludes there will be good news coming out of the Japan-Mexico matchup. Upon hearing Kuo’s remarks, the two Japanese lawmakers chuckled gratifyingly. And as predicted, toward the end of the meeting Team Japan executed a spectacular comeback in the ninth inning and will be coming up against Team USA tomorrow.
Horii pointed out that Taiwan is an essential partner of Japan; he was delighted to receive a warm welcome for the visit. Last year Horii accompanied Seko Hiroshige (世耕弘成), chief secretary of the LDP,and a member of the House of Councillors to Taipei. During his visit Seko was granted an audience with President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President Lai Ching-te, both of whom expressed solicitude for the progress of the 2+2 Dialogue.
Horii stated that, aware of Horii’s attendance at this 2+2 Dialogue, Seko asked him to extend his warm regards to the two Taiwanese lawmakers and sincere gratitude to the same for leading the dialogue. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (岸田文雄), during his visit to India yesterday (March 20), announced the new concept of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), stressing the importance of rule of law, regional cooperation, multilateral linkages and maritime and air security, among other issues. The new concept has been approved by countries such as Taiwan, the United States, Australia, India and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), emphasizing the global community must work in unison to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, East Asia and the Indo-Pacific region writ large.
In his remarks Kokuba noted this in-person dialogue is of epoch-making significance. As Director of the LDP’s National Defense Division, he’d like to share with the Taiwanese legislators about the new version of the “Three National Defense Documents” revised by Japan last year--the documents comprising the National Security Strategy (NSS), National Defense Strategy (NDS) and Defense Buildup Program. The NSS is of particular import as it was revised for the first time in nine years, its content pertaining to Taiwan substantially increased.
Kokuba further stated that Taiwan and Japan share common values; the semiconductor-centric supply chain along with tourism exchanges is pivotal, too. It behooves us to continue promoting bilateral exchanges, Kokuba stressed. Finally, he expressed his expectation for the next 2+2 Dialogue in Japan.
Spokesperson Hsieh further explained to the press that the two LDP lawmakers, who have visited Taiwan several times, are respectively the secretary and a member of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council (日華議員懇談會), the largest Taiwan-friendly conference in the Japanese Diet. During Horii’s trip to Taiwan last year, he went to Wuzhishan (Wuzhi Mountains) to pay homage to the late President Lee Teng-hui and headed south to Kaohsiung City to pay respects to the statue of the late Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
The two Japanese lawmakers made a special visit to Taiwan solely in order to attend the 2+2 Dialogue. After the talk they had a follow-up meeting with DPP Secretary-General Hsu Li-ming on an array of issues including ways to deepen the Taiwan-Japan partnership. Hsu, on behalf of Chairperson Lai, stressed the ruling parties of Taiwan and Japan should continue working together to deepen the shared values of democracy and human rights.
