TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Furuya Keiji, Chairman of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council, and the council’s secretary general, Kihara Minoru, arrived in Taiwan on Monday morning (Aug. 22).

Furuya said in a tweet that “China's military provocations and other erratic behavior threatens the peace and security of not only Taiwan but East Asia as a whole.” Deeper cooperation among nations with shared values is vital, he added.

The two Liberal Democratic Party politicians will be in Taiwan from Aug. 22-24 and will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to discuss enhancing defense mechanisms with the U.S., and share views on the live-fire military exercise carried out by China around Taiwan following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. They will also review plans to send a delegation of council members to attend Double Ten Day celebrations and participate in a meeting between lawmakers from Japan, the U.S., and Taiwan about regional strategic affairs, according to Kyodo News.

Furuya and Kihara will meet with Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Legislative Speaker You Hsi-kun (游錫堃), Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), and Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Chair Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全). The two will also stop by the Wuzhi Mountain Military Cemetery to pay respects to the late former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).

The Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council has more than 260 National Diet members who have spared no effort to promote friendly exchanges between Taiwan and Japan for many years, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.