Threatening acts by Beijing are “not the conduct of a responsible international actor,” British Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan said yesterday in a display of support for Taiwan.
She made the comment after lawmaker Stewart McDonald during a debate in the House of Commons in London asked the British government to explain its support of the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, despite China’s “expansionist behavior.”
Trevelyan said the UK’s long-standing position is for the peaceful settlement of the Taiwan issue “by the people on both sides of the Strait without the threat or use of force or coercion.”
Photo: AFP
The UK and the world have a “clear interest” in ensuring the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific as a whole, as a conflict would have a tragic human and economic cost for the world, she said.
The UK is committed to working with its international partners to “underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” in light of China’s assertive actions, including military flights that have escalated tensions, she said.
The UK supports Taiwan’s inclusion in the international community, which is in the global public interest, and Taiwanese can make valuable contributions on issues of global concern, she added.
“The UK has an important role to play in supporting continued peace and stability in the Strait, and we can only benefit from that continued engagement with Taiwan as a thriving democracy and an important economic partner,” Trevelyan said.
McDonald said that he believes the British government’s attitude to Taiwan is positive, but he hopes London would go further than its current stance.
Limits on exchanges of senior officials between Taiwan and the UK should be reduced, and London’s de facto embassy to Taiwan should be given an appropriate legal status if bilateral cooperation in trade and other fields is to be improved, he said.
Taiwan’s experience in dealing with disinformation offers valuable lessons for the UK, McDonald added.
In response to a request for comment, Alicia Kearns, chair of the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said that the committee emphasized the importance of continued cooperation with Taiwan in a report to parliament.
The British government should have the courage to make clear that London has taken note of Beijing’s “one China” principle, but does not acknowledge it, Kearns said.
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