US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on Thursday voiced the US’ strong concern over China’s “destabilizing actions” around Taiwan and in the Taiwan Strait in a meeting with a Chinese official, saying that they “erode the status quo that has maintained regional peace and stability for decades.”
The US State Department described Campbell’s discussion with Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu (馬朝旭) in Washington as “candid and constructive,” and “part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication between the United States and PRC” (the People’s Republic of China).
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held large-scale military exercises in areas surrounding Taiwan on Thursday and Friday last week, three days after the inauguration of President William Lai (賴清德).
Photo: EPA-EFE
Beijing has also increased its number of military incursions, including crossing the unofficial maritime border, the median line of the Taiwan Strait, and entering Taiwan’s southwestern air defense identification zone.
During their meeting, Campbell also raised the US’ “serious concerns about PRC support to Russia’s defense industrial base undermining European security, and the PRC’s destabilizing actions in the East China Sea and South China Sea, including at Second Thomas Shoal” (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙), the US State Department said in a statement.
“The Deputy Secretary emphasized that although the United States and PRC are in competition, both countries need to prevent miscalculation that could veer into conflict or confrontation,” the statement said, adding that both sides reaffirmed “the importance of maintaining open channels of communication at all times and committed to continue diplomacy and consultations.”
Separately, Campbell on Friday hosted a meeting attended by Japanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Masataka Okano and South Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong-kyun.
“We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community,” said a joint statement issued after the meeting, which also called for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.
The joint statement also “strongly condemned North Korea’s recent launches using ballistic missile technology.”
“We reaffirm our commitment to use our collective capacity to strengthen security and maintain peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region,” it said, adding that the US, Japan and South Korea “strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific.”
In other news, Canadian Minister of National Defence Bill Blair yesterday said he had also expressed concern about Chinese military action around Taiwan since the Taiwanese presidential election in January during his meeting with Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍), held on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Singapore.
Canada would increase its presence in Asia, Blair said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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