The newly appointed president of the Association of East Asian Relations, Chiu I-jen, says he’s looking forward to new developments in Taiwan-Japan relations. Chiu’s remarks came in an interview on Friday after he was appointed to head the semi-official organization, which charts Taiwan’s ties with Japan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
Chiu, who is a former head of Taiwan’s National Security Council, said that past diplomatic efforts had created a foundation for ties with Japan. He said that recent changes in the international community have created new opportunities for the further development of relations.
As to how the association will share responsibilities with Taiwan’s representative office in Japan, Chiu said he will take direction from the foreign ministry once the new representative to Japan, Frank Hsieh, takes office.