Taiwan will continue to strengthen its self-defense capabilities and cooperation with like-minded countries to defend the rules-based international order, the Presidential Office said yesterday after defense ministers from the US, Japan and Australia in a joint statement highlighted the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The US, Japan and Australia issued the statement after Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles, Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin convened the 14th Trilateral Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Darwin, Australia, on Sunday.
“We emphasize the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and call for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues,” the statement said.
Photo: Screen grab from Japan Ministry of Defense’s X account
Taiwan thanks its international partners for placing attention and emphasis on the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the region at large, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said.
“The trilateral joint statement once again demonstrates that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is not only a critical regional issue, but also an essential element in global peace and prosperity,” she said.
The joint statement also reiterated strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait by force or coercion, and showed concern for issues in the East and South China seas.
“We reiterate our serious concern about destabilizing actions in the East and South China seas,” the joint statement said.
“It is important that all states are free to exercise rights and freedoms consistent with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, including freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea,” it added.
Kuo said Taiwan stands on the frontline of defense for democracy and is a responsible member of the region, as well as the international community.
“Facing an increasingly complex regional situation, Taiwan will continue to strengthen its self-defense capabilities and deepen its cooperative partnerships with the US, Japan, Australia and other like-minded countries to jointly defend the rules-based international order,” she added.
Additional reporting by Lee I-chia
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
’DISTORTION’: Beijing’s assertion that the US agreed with its position on Taiwan is a recurring tactic it uses to falsely reinforce its sovereignty claims, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said Chinese state media deliberately distorted Taiwan’s sovereign status, following reports that US President Donald Trump agreed to uphold the “one China” policy in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi urged Trump to retreat from trade measures that roiled the global economy and cautioned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, a Chinese government summary of the call said. China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying that the US should handle the Taiwan issue cautiously and avoid the two countries being drawn into dangerous
RSS