TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Speaking in Washington on Wednesday (Jan. 10), former Japanese Prime Minister Aso Taro, who is the current vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said that attempts by China to militarily unify Taiwan “must not be tolerated.”

Aso was giving a speech at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in D.C. on global geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific, reported Japan Times. During his talk, Aso urged Beijing and Taipei to increase communication and exchanges, while also reaffirming the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance to maintain regional security.

Warning of the rising threat posed by authoritarian states, Aso said “China's choice of a hasty military unification of Taiwan will only disrupt the international order for its own convenience." Such actions by China "must not be tolerated," he said.

With Taiwan’s presidential election only days away, Aso urged China to exercise restraint in its relations with Taiwan over the coming weeks. He also encouraged the U.S. and other allies to assist in promoting meaningful cross-strait dialogue to reduce tensions and maintain peace in the Indo Pacific.

Aso also called for pragmatism in dealing with the region’s international political disputes. “We should develop a deterrent force, develop an appropriate economic and security policy,” he said, as reported by Japan Times.

The former prime minister also expressed his hope that the U.S. would someday join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral trade agreement that went into force in 2018 after the U.S. withdrew from the previously proposed Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership.

Taiwan applied for inclusion in the partnership in 2021 under the name "The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu" and is awaiting the opportunity to negotiate terms of membership.