US, Japan oppose China's unlawful maritime claims, call for peace in Taiwan Strait

The two leaders also stressed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, emphasising that its security is vital for "security and prosperity for the international community."

Ishiba visited the US from February 6 to 8, and held the first in-person summit meeting with Trump in Washington DC.

"The two leaders reiterated their strong opposition to any attempts by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea. The two leaders reaffirmed their strong opposition to the PRC's unlawful maritime claims, militarisation of reclaimed features, and threatening and provocative activities in the South China Sea," the White House said in a US-Japan joint leaders' statement.

The statement added, "The two leaders emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community. They encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues, and opposed any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion. The two leaders also expressed support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organisations."

Notably, the Taiwan-China conflict remained a longstanding geopolitical issue centred on Taiwan's sovereignty. While Taiwan functioned as a de facto independent state with its own government, military, and economy, Beijing considered it a breakaway province under the "One China" policy.

Since the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), when the Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan, China had used diplomatic, economic, and military measures to pressure Taiwan, which continued to assert its independence with strong domestic support.

Meanwhile, the two leaders also expressed their serious concerns over and the need to address the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK's) nuclear and missile programmes and reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearisation of the DPRK.

"Both countries underscored the need to deter and counter the DPRK's malicious cyber activities and the DPRK's increasing military cooperation with Russia. In addition, both countries affirmed the importance of the Japan-US-ROK trilateral partnership in responding to the DPRK and upholding regional peace and prosperity. Japan reiterated its determination to achieve an immediate resolution of the abductions issue, which the United States supported," the White House statement said.