US President Joe Biden and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday declared the importance of cross-strait peace in a joint statement following a meeting in Washington, drawing immediate protest from Beijing.
“We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues,” the two leaders said in the long-ranging statement that also declared their support for upholding the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, without mentioning China by name.
It came right after mention of the leaders’ “grave concerns” regarding human rights abuses in Xinjiang and the erosion of rights in Hong Kong.
Photo: AP
The comments were issued following Ardern’s meeting with Biden in the Oval Office, where they discussed topics including the Russia-Ukraine war and competition in the Indo-Pacific region for more than an hour.
They also noted “with concern” the security arrangement between China and the Solomon Islands against the backdrop of increasing strategic competition in the Pacific, “which threatens to undermine existing institutions and arrangements that underpin the region’s security.”
The establishment of a “persistent military presence in the Pacific by a state that does not share our values or security interests would fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the region” and pose national security concerns to both countries, the statement said.
They also reaffirmed their support for freedom of navigation and overflight “in the South China Sea and beyond” in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, condemning “unlawful maritime claims and activities” that run counter to the rules-based order.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) told a regular news conference that the joint statement smears China and gravely interferes in its internal affairs.
Ardern’s visit to the US comes as Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) is touring the Pacific seeking support for Beijing’s sweeping regional security pact, which was rebuffed by leaders from 10 Pacific island nations during a meeting in Fiji on Monday.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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