Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is an international consensus and of common interest, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday as he welcomed top diplomats from the US, Japan and South Korea reiterating in a joint statement the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya and South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul on Saturday held their first meeting following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
Following their meeting, the US Department of State released a “Joint Statement on the Trilateral United States – Japan – Republic of Korea Meeting in Munich.”
Photo: Taipei Times
The statement said that the secretary and foreign ministers “emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community.”
“They encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues and opposed any attempts to unilaterally force or coerce changes to the status quo,” it said, adding that “they expressed support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in appropriate international organizations.”
The statement also said they “emphasized their commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and ensuring international law prevails.”
Rubio, Iwaya and Cho “reaffirmed their commitment to upholding shared principles, including respect for democracy, sovereignty and the rule of law” and “made clear they stand shoulder to shoulder against any effort to destabilize democratic institutions, economic independence and global security.”
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in a news release cited Lin as saying that the ministry welcomes and thanks the three top diplomats for jointly reiterating their support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and their opposition to any attempts to unilaterally force or coerce changes to the “status quo.”
The joint statement came on the heels of the “US-Japan Leaders’ Joint Statement” issued after Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru in Washington earlier this month, the ministry said.
Like-minded partners have again highlighted that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait has become a consensus and common interest of the international community, and is relevant to the welfare of all countries, as well as regional and global peace and prosperity, it said.
The ministry welcomes the international community paying close attention to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and showing concern about China’s use of “gray zone” tactics and economic coercion to threaten the “status quo” in the area, it said.
As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan would continue to strengthen national defense capabilities and economic resilience, and coordinate closely with like-minded nations to ensure peace, stability and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and throughout the Indo-Pacific region, the ministry said.
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