US President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, met with then Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe and wife, Akie, in 2019. - Reuters
TOKYO: US President-elect Donald Trump reportedly discussed the security environment involving China and Taiwan when he met Akie Abe, widow of Japan’s late former prime minister Shinzo Abe, earlier in December.
Persons familiar with the meeting said Trump regarded strained ties between China and Taiwan as a major global issue.
Trump and his wife Melania, invited Abe to dinner at their Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Dec 15.
Sources said Trump and Abe talked about their memories of Abe, and that the conversation also touched on global affairs, including Taiwan.
China is increasing its military pressure on Taiwan, and both Japan and the US are growing increasingly wary of the possibility of a global incident in the Taiwan Strait.
Japan’s former prime minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden had reaffirmed in previous meetings the importance of peace and stability in Taiwan.
Pundits are now focusing on whether the current prime minister, Shigeru Shigeru, and Trump will be able to share the same understanding of the situation in Taiwan.
Trump and Abe also discussed Russia’s ongoing war to gain territories in Ukraine.
Sources said Trump reiterated his willingness to negotiate a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv.
He also told Abe that he had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris earlier in December to bring an immediate halt to the war.
Trump handwrote the word “peace” in a book of photos he gave Mrs Abe as a present for Ishiba. - The Japan News/ANN
