The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked France over its concern about security in the Taiwan Strait, after the French Ministry of Armed Forces confirmed its naval presence in the area.
French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly on Tuesday told the French Senate that Paris would use its navy to demonstrate its adherence to international law and freedom of navigation, mentioning maneuvers by the signals intelligence vessel Dupuy-de-Lome in the Taiwan Strait as an example.
Parly made the remarks in response to a question by French Senator Olivier Cadic, one of the senators who visited Taiwan last week, if any concrete action was being taken to back Paris’ oft-expressed support for maintaining the cross-strait “status quo.”
Photo: AFP
In August, a Facebook page called New 27 Brigade reported the spotting of the French frigate Provence sailing in the waters off Changhua County’s coast, but the French Ministry of Armed Forces said at the time that no French naval vessels were in the Taiwan Strait.
In Taipei, Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) told a news briefing yesterday that the ministry thanked the French parliament and its administration for its concern over the security situation in the Taiwan Strait and taking corresponding actions.
In the face of China’s military expansionism, European nations this year have raised concerns about security matters within the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region on several occasions, such as the G7, NATO and US-Europe summits, Chen said.
France, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands have dispatched vessels to the Indo-Pacific region to assert their freedom of navigation, he added.
Taiwan will continue to deepen its close partnerships with France and other like-minded countries to defend a rules-based international order, along with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Chen said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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