The US, Japan and South Korea on Monday emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and voiced concern over “increasingly frequent destabilizing actions” around Taiwan, a joint statement issued by the US Department of State said.
The three governments encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues and opposed “any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo,” the statement said, alluding to Beijing’s threat of annexing Taiwan by force, but without naming China.
They also said they support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in appropriate international organizations, the statement said.
Photo: Reuters
The joint statement came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya and South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun met in New York during the UN General Assembly to discuss security and economic issues in the Indo-Pacific region.
The US reaffirmed in the statement what it called its “ironclad commitments to the defense of Japan” and South Korea, pledging extended deterrence supported by “America’s unmatched military strength, including its nuclear capabilities.”
In remarks implicitly aimed at China, they also rejected “unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea, as well as attempts to enforce such claims,” and opposed “any attempts to change the status quo including dangerous and destabilizing actions in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, including the South China Sea.”
They underscored their commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and to international law as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, including “freedoms of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea.”
The statement also addressed cooperation in other areas, including potential trilateral coast guard exchanges, strengthened coordination on arctic issues, and encouraging Russia and Ukraine toward “a durable negotiated settlement.”
It reaffirmed the governments’ commitment to North Korea’s complete denuclearization under UN Security Council resolutions and urged an immediate end to Pyongyang’s “increasing military cooperation with Russia.”
The statement further highlighted efforts to bolster energy security — citing US liquefied natural gas and other resources — while pledging to diversify critical supply chains and to accelerate joint development of advanced civil nuclear reactors.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hsiao Kuangwei (蕭光偉) yesterday said that the meeting was the third time this year the US, Japan and South Korea had “reaffirmed their support for maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
Hsiao said the ministry welcomed the international community’s “continued attention” to cross-strait issues.
“Taiwan would continue to enhance its national defense capabilities, strengthen its economic resilience, and work with like-minded partners such as the United States, Japan and South Korea to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
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