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.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu said the strengthening of military facilities would help to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post would move forward as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing. “The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.” Former Japanese minister of defense Gen Nakatani in January said that Tokyo wanted to base Type 03 Chu-SAM missiles on Yonaguni, but little progress
NO CHANGES: A Japanese spokesperson said that Tokyo remains consistent and open for dialogue, while Beijing has canceled diplomatic engagements A Japanese official blasted China’s claims that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has altered Japan’s position on a Taiwan crisis as “entirely baseless,” calling for more dialogue to stop ties between Asia’s top economies from spiraling. China vowed to take resolute self-defense against Japan if it “dared to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait” in a letter delivered Friday to the UN. “I’m aware of this letter,” said Maki Kobayashi, a senior Japanese government spokeswoman. “The claim our country has altered its position is entirely baseless,” she said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday. The Chinese Ministry
RSS