The US and Japan expressed concerns that China's "anti-secession" law would "raise tensions" and "have a negative impact" on peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and reiterated that the "Taiwan problem" should be solved through a peaceful resolution.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told ABC Television on Sunday that the legislation "clearly raises tensions," and that "it's not necessary or a good thing to raise tensions."
Rice, who will travel to six Asian countries, including China, this week, said Washington has concerns about the Chinese military buildup.
She said it is too early to make conclusions about what kind of power China is going to be in international affairs, and that what the US should do is engage in policies that strengthen the chances that China will be "a constructive force, not a destructive force."
There should be no effort on either side of the Taiwan Strait to unilaterally change the status quo, Rice said.
"We have concerns about the cross-straits tensions between China and Taiwan. China's economy is integrating into the international economy; it needs to do that in a rules-based way, according to the WTO obligations that China undertook," she said.
"And of course the United States has strong alliances in the region, with Japan, with South Korea, that gives a sense of stability to this region in a military sense, in a political sense, in an economic sense," Rice added.
After China passed the law yesterday morning, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Japan wanted a peaceful solution to issues related to Taiwan.
"We are concerned from the standpoint that it may have a negative impact ... on peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and on relations between [China and Taiwan]," Hosoda told reporters.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters that he would like China and Taiwan to "mutually resolve things peacefully so there is no negative impact."
In a joint declaration last month, Japan and the US described peace in the Taiwan Strait as their "common security concern."
The European Economic and Trade Office in Taipei declined to comment on the "anti-secession" law yesterday, saying the EU would express its opinion on the issue in the due course.
Meanwhile, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday his country would not necessarily back the US if it becomes involved in a military conflict between China and Taiwan.
Downer said if Washington became involved in a war between China and Taiwan, the ANZUS treaty between Australia and the US could be invoked.
Under the pact, Australia and the US are obliged to consult if either is attacked by a third country in the Pacific region.
"We would be bound to consult with the Americans ... But that's a very different thing from saying we would make a decision to go to war," Downer said.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS