US and Japanese Foreign Ministers Reaffirm Importance of Peace in Taiwan Strait

According to the Central News Agency, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in India today to discuss recent US-China summit topics, reaffirming the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. According to a statement from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rubio and Motegi held a 10-minute side meeting during the Quad summit. Motegi told reporters after the meeting, "We exchanged views on the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and the security environment, including various challenges regarding China. In this context, we reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait." Furthermore, Motegi noted that Japan will continue to work closely with the US to achieve peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. This meeting marked the first face-to-face discussion between major ministers of the two countries since the Trump-Xi summit. It was reported that during the summit, Xi Jinping criticized Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's move to increase military spending.