The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked 12 of the nation’s allies for speaking out in support of Taiwan, after they on Tuesday voiced “serious concern” over recent Chinese military drills in a joint statement to the UN.
The statement also praised Taiwan’s composed response to the drills — launched in the days after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelsoi visited Taipei from Aug. 2 and 3.
Beijing’s actions threaten regional peace and security, the nations’ ambassadors to the UN said, urging other nations to dissuade China from its attempts to change the “status quo.”
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Honduras and the Vatican are the only two of the nation’s 14 diplomatic allies that did not sign the statement, although the Vatican is not a full member of the UN.
The signatories were Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tuvalu.
On Aug. 11, during a visit to Taiwan, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves revealed that the nation’s allies were drafting a letter to the UN to condemn Chinese military coercion against Taiwan.
At the time, he said that the statement would address the “unreasonable, disproportionate and wholly wrong conduct” of the People’s Republic of China.
In Taipei yesterday, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) expressed the nation’s “sincere gratitude” for the statement.
The letter reaffirms allies’ concern for regional peace and stability, and commitment to upholding the rules-based international order under the tenets of the UN Charter, she told a regular news conference.
Ou also reiterated Taiwan’s condemnation of Chinese military coercion, which disrupts the international order, as well as global trade and movement.
The ministry calls on the international community to recognize China’s irresponsible actions and urge it to observe the prohibition against military force under the UN Charter, she said.
China’s permanent mission to the UN on Tuesday condemned the “extreme minority” of signatory nations for “baselessly accusing China for taking legitimate measures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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