TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Western Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions, have been damaged by China's military expansion, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said during a meeting with the Japan National Diet delegation on Thursday (July 28).

Su said that China has continued to expand militarily in the past decade, with warships and aircraft incessantly threatening Taiwan, CNA reported. This has undermined the stability of the Taiwan Strait, Tseng said.

The Chinese navy fleet is also operating in the Western Pacific and expanding military facilities in the South China Sea, he added.

Su said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has set up factories in Japan to deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation. He also highlighted the important role Taiwan's semiconductor industry plays in the global supply chain, per CNA.

Therefore, an armed attack on Taiwan not only undermines regional peace and stability but also Taiwan's position in the global supply chain, Tsu said. He also mentioned former Japan Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s remark that, “Taiwan’s emergency is Japan’s emergency and is equivalent to a threat to Japan’s security.”

Shigeru Ishiba, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives, said he hopes to discuss viewpoints on Taiwan and China and the Russian-Ukrainian war. He also wanted to know how Taiwan and the U.S. view recent developments within NATO.

Ishiba agreed with Abe's Taiwan emergency statement but he said that in order to avoid such a situation, Taiwan and Japan must come up with areas of cooperation and achieve results. He added the U.S., Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan should assess what treaty should be invoked, on what legal basis measures can be taken, and what kind of troops can be mobilized to strengthen military cooperation in the event of a regional military conflict.

The four-member delegation, which arrived on July 27, consists of Ishiba, Yasukazu Hamada, Akihisa Nakashima, who are members of Japan’s House of Representatives, and Takayuki Shimizu, who is a member of the House of Councilors. Both Shigeru and Yasukazu previously served as Japan defense minister.