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.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan. The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat." The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau. Philippine authorities were assessing the damage from the quake, with the office of civil defense seeking to verifying initial reports that 15 people had been killed and 129 injured in the region, mostly from falling debris. Arlene Hollero, disaster chief of Maasim town in the Philippines' Sarangani Province,
‘GRAY ZONE’ PRESSURE: Beijing’s activities are intended to create the deceitful impression that China has jurisdiction over the area around Taiwan, the CGA said Taiwan’s rights over its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone must not be violated by any country, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that it will not accept any unprovoked actions. The council issued the remarks in response to the China Coast Guard conducting maritime enforcement drills near eastern Taiwan and claiming to fully exercise China’s maritime administrative law enforcement authority. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has been closely monitoring the situation and is taking concrete steps to defend the nation’s sovereignty and secure its waters, the council said. China has no sovereign rights over the waters off eastern
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RSS