In its annual defense report, Japan for the first time stated (Bloomberg) that “the stability of the situation around Taiwan is important” for Japanese and international security. Beijing responded (SCMP) that Tokyo was “grossly interfering” in its internal affairs.
Taiwan: Technology giants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Foxconn Technology Group made a deal with a Chinese firm to procure ten million doses (FT) of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for Taiwan, ending an impasse in which the island struggled to acquire vaccines due to tensions with Beijing.
For the Asia Unbound blog, Roman Shemakov discusses Taiwan’s vaccine shortage.