The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed its gratitude to the UK and the US governments for restating the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in their UK-US Strategic Dialogue joint statement, which was released on Saturday London time.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in London to open the UK-US Strategic Dialogue, which was held on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.
The strategic dialogue, which covered the key elements of the UK-US partnership, included unwavering support for Ukraine, the promotion of peace and security in the Middle East — including a ceasefire in Gaza — cooperation towards a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and alignment on secure, resilient and sustainable growth.
Photo: AP
In the joint statement released by both governments on Saturday, they “restated the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as indispensable to the security and prosperity of the international community and called for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.”
In Taipei yesterday, the ministry issued a press release expressing its thanks to the UK, the US and other like-minded countries for their continued focus on peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific region.
“As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan is to continue to work with like-minded democratic partners to safeguard the rules-based international order and promote regional peace, stability, and prosperity,” it said.
Regarding the Indo-Pacific region, the UK and the US’ joint statement said the two sides “pledged to explore new opportunities to coordinate approaches, work with others to support a free and open region, and oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.”
They also recognized AUKUS, their partnership with Australia, as a demonstration of their continued collective commitment to the region, the joint statement said.
Regarding China, the joint statement said that the UK and the US “noted with concern dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea by Chinese vessels towards Philippines vessels.”
They also confirmed their shared commitment to upholding international law and the rules-based international system, and emphasized the need to respect the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, it said.
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