Japanese officials from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will meet on Aug. 27 with Taiwanese officials from the ruling Democratic Progress Party (DPP) to discuss ways of countering Chinese aggressions and boosting regional security, the Financial Times reported Aug. 24. The LDP's foreign affairs chief, Masahisa Sato, and Taku Otsuka, a defense chief for the party, will meet virtually with their counterparts in Taiwan's DPP, Lo Chih-cheng and Tsai Shih-ying. The Chinese Foreign Ministry meanwhile stated Aug. 25 that Japan should stay out of China's internal affairs. Why It Matters: Tokyo has been slowly pivoting its defense strategy toward greater protection of Taiwan and the surrounding seas as shown by its recent amphibious landing drills with the United States and France and its placement of missile assets further down Japan's island chain and closer to Taiwan.