The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked the UK and Australia for pledging to deepen relations with Taiwan and for opposing any attempt to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait.
London and Canberra made the remarks in a joint statement issued on Thursday at the conclusion of the annual Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations, held this year in Portsmouth, England.
The meeting was attended by British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly, British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong (黃英賢) and Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.
Photo: AFP
The two sides said they discussed “the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues without the threat or use of force or coercion.”
Australia and the UK support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, and expressed hopes to deepen relations with Taiwan in the economic, scientific, trade, technological and cultural fields, the statement said.
They plan to work together “to ensure an Indo-Pacific region that is open, stable, prosperous and respectful of sovereignty, human rights and international law,” it said.
The remarks came after similar statements by the US and Japan earlier this month, as well as from France and Australia on Monday.
The comments show that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait has become the consensus among democratic countries, and a crucial part of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said.
The UK and Australia are like-minded partners to Taiwan, it said, adding that the three governments continue to work closely to safeguard a peaceful international order, and maintain stability and prosperity for the region and the rest of the world.
Separately, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday spoke on the telephone with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang (秦剛) for the first time since Qin took office at the end of last year.
Hayashi during the call talked about the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and voiced grave concern about China’s increased military activity around Japan, NHK reported yesterday.
Qin said that “peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation are the only correct choice for both sides,” which indicated China’s willingness to improve its relations with Japan, the broadcaster reported.
Qin asked Japan to restrain its actions and comments regarding Taiwan, adding that it should avoid provocative actions around the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, it said.
Hayashi yesterday said that Qin invited him to visit China during the call, although no date has been arranged.
Hayashi did not say who initiated the call, but said both parties considered the discussion necessary.
Additional reporting by Lin Tsuei-yi
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
UNITED: The premier said Trump’s tariff comments provided a great opportunity for the private and public sectors to come together to maintain the nation’s chip advantage The government is considering ways to assist the nation’s semiconductor industry or hosting collaborative projects with the private sector after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on chips exported to the US, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Trump on Monday told Republican members of the US Congress about plans to impose sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, copper and pharmaceuticals “in the very near future.” “It’s time for the United States to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before,” Trump said at the Republican Issues Conference in Miami, Florida. “They
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: Taiwan must capitalize on the shock waves DeepSeek has sent through US markets to show it is a tech partner of Washington, a researcher said China’s reported breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) would prompt the US to seek a stronger alliance with Taiwan and Japan to secure its technological superiority, a Taiwanese researcher said yesterday. The launch of low-cost AI model DeepSeek (深度求索) on Monday sent US tech stocks tumbling, with chipmaker Nvidia Corp losing 16 percent of its value and the NASDAQ falling 612.46 points, or 3.07 percent, to close at 19,341.84 points. On the same day, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Sector index dropped 488.7 points, or 9.15 percent, to close at 4,853.24 points. The launch of the Chinese chatbot proves that a competitor can
RSS