“The head of the Japanese government, Sanae Takaichi, will meet with President Donald Trump in the spring of this year. This meeting will take place against the background of increased tensions in the region due to Chinese military maneuvers near Taiwan. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she had an “extremely important” conversation with President Donald Trump and will visit the American leader later this year for […]”, — write: businessua.com.ua
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she had an “extremely important” conversation with President Donald Trump and will visit the US leader later this year amid escalating tensions in the region sparked by recent Chinese military exercises around Taiwan, reports said. UNN with reference to Bloomberg.
“At the invitation of President Trump, we have also agreed on detailed coordination for the implementation of my visit to the United States this spring,” Takaichi wrote in a Friday message on X.
The talk between the two allied leaders came after China’s military spent two days simulating a blockade of Taiwan, a self-governing territory that Beijing regards as its own, with live-fire drills. China also launched long-range missiles into the Taiwan Strait, one of the busiest sea lanes in the world, for the first time since 2022.
The publication notes that Trump initially called the exercise a continuation of long-standing Chinese activities and emphasized his “excellent relationship” with the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping. Nevertheless, the US State Department, in a statement made on the first day of the year, accused Beijing of “unnecessarily building up tensions”.
Relations between Japan and China have soured in recent weeks after Takaichi publicly said Tokyo could deploy its armed forces if Beijing attacked Taiwan. Beijing responded with a wave of punitive measures, including restrictions on Japanese seafood imports and banning Chinese citizens from visiting Taiwan.
Takaichi refused to back down from her statements, insisting that Japan’s policy on Taiwan remains unchanged.
Trump and Takaichi spoke in late November, when the US president briefed her on a phone call with Xi Jinping and the latest developments in US-China relations.
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also spoke to Trump by phone on Friday, according to a statement from the city-state, and thanked the US president for inviting him to the G20 summit later this year.
More broadly, the latest Chinese drills are a test of Trump’s support for Taiwan after the US approved an $11 billion arms package for the island in December, angering Beijing. China has launched diplomatic efforts to stabilize relations with the United States, while trying to make it clear to Washington that it views Taiwan as a “red line,” Bloomberg added.
Trump and Takaichi’s conversation also came as the United States and Japan try to accelerate Tokyo’s plan to invest $550 billion in the United States as part of a broader trade deal to cut tariffs. Final investment approval will be given by Trump based on the Committee’s recommendations.
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