Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling met with Nobukatsu Kanehara, executive director of Japan’s Sasakawa Peace Foundation March 24 in the southern city of Kaohsiung to undertake discussion on exchanges in marine affairs cooperation.
Kuan said that Taiwan and Japan have enjoyed close ties for many years and an interdependent ocean security relationship. She hoped that the two countries would work together further to tackle climate change and manage marine resources.
In addition to signing a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on tackling marine waste, Taiwan and Japan have also conducted maritime disaster prevention and rescue drills, the minister said. Through policy dialogue, information sharing and technological exchange, capabilities in ocean monitoring, disaster response and resource management would be enhanced, she added.
SPF is a nonprofit organization which promotes global peace and stability while its Ocean Policy Research Institute actively advances regional cooperation in marine governance. Kuan expressed gratitude to OPRI for providing financial support to Taiwan academics undertaking research there.
Kanehara noted that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bilateral links with Taiwan during his tenure underscored the importance of collaborative work against regional threats. He further remarked that work with the U.S. and other like-minded partners to advance stable regional development was of importance and anticipated exchange with Taiwan in major issues such as marine communication cable security. (POC-E)
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