Japan enters Taiwan-China fight with Covid-19 vaccine shipments to Taipei

Japan announced Friday it was sending some of its Covid-19 vaccines to Taiwan, which has been struggling to procure its own supplies and blamed China for impeding shipments of the shots.
 

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters Japan plans to provide about 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine free of charge. The shipment was expected to arrive on a flight later Friday and Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered its appreciation in a statement.

Motegi reiterated that Taiwan has an urgent need for supplies of the vaccine as Covid spreads and domestic production is not set to be ramped up until July. “We decided to provide this based on our important partnership with Taiwan and our friendship,” Motegi said.

The shortage amid rising case numbers in Taiwan has raised fears of a health crisis that could hurt its semiconductor production, which is crucial for global industry. Donating the vaccines to Taiwan could irritate China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, which sees the island as part of its territory and has stepped up military exercises in the region in recent months.

Motegi said many in Japan remembered that Taiwan was the first to offer support after it was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Japan approved the AstraZeneca vaccine on May 20 following domestic testing, but put its use on hold because of concerns about rare cases of blood clots. The government has sufficient supplies of other shots to cover its own population and Wednesday hosted a summit on accelerating global vaccination efforts.

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Asked about Japan’s plans on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the idea “has drawn doubts from media and the public including in Taiwan.” He added that “vaccine assistance should be restored to its origin purpose, which is to save lives, and should not be reduced to a tool for selfish political gains.”

The government of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has resisted pressure, both at home and from China, to work with Beijing to obtain Covid-19 vaccines, a politically unpalatable option for officials in Taipei. Tsai and her party have blamed China for scuttling an earlier order of millions of Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shots, although Beijing has rejected the accusation.

Terry Gou, the founder of iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is working with Taiwan’s health ministry to negotiate the purchase of BioNTech vaccines, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said in a video press conference with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan Thursday. Wu added that Tsai’s administration welcomes any individuals or organizations that want to work with the government to secure vaccines for Taiwan.

Taiwan stands to receive vaccines from the U.S. The administration of President Joe Biden plans to distribute globally 25 million Covid-19 vaccine doses, with 7 million destined for Asia.

Taiwan has so far been unable to directly obtain Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech vaccines from Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. The China-based drugmaker, which has an agreement to develop and distribute them in the greater China region that includes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, has repeatedly said it wants to supply the BioNTech vaccine to Taiwan.