European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol underlined the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement on Monday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the statement, which was issued after the three leaders met in Seoul for the 10th EU-Republic of Korea Summit.
“We stress the importance of preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and oppose unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific,” the statement said.
Photo: AP
They also reaffirmed their support “for freedom of overflight and of navigation, including in the South China Sea, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
South Korea has since May 2021 openly highlighted the importance of cross-strait peace and stability, the ministry said.
Tensions over Taiwan “occurred because of the attempts to change the status quo by force, and we together with the international community absolutely oppose such a change,” Yoon told Reuters last month.
While Yoon was in Washington last month, he and US President Joe Biden in a joint statement “reiterated the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the region.”
Von der Leyen last month said that Europe has a very clear interest in preserving cross-strait stability, adding that “the threat of, or the use of, force to change the status quo is unacceptable.”
Taiwan is happy to work closely with like-minded nations to safeguard the rules-based international order against coercion from authoritarian regimes, the ministry said.
In other diplomatic news, visiting Saint Lucian Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire yesterday at a meeting with Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said that his country would seize every opportunity to support Taiwan’s full participation in all international organizations.
Saint Lucia knows that Taiwan should be included in all international organizations, as its participation would only make those organizations richer, he said.
As a family, Saint Lucia and Taiwan love each other and would take care of each other, Hilaire said.
“Taiwan and Saint Lucia are both island countries, and even the shapes of the islands are very similar. I believe it is not a coincidence, but a destiny for us to be partners,” he added.
Hilaire said he hoped that the delegation he led to Taiwan could explore ways to deepen cooperation in cultural industries.
Lai thanked the Caribbean ally for voicing support for Taiwan at the World Health Assembly and called on the democratic world not to fall into the trap of the “one China” principle.
Taiwan is a guardian of peace, which is priceless and in the interest of the whole world, the vice president said.
As an island nation, Saint Lucia boasts beautiful scenery, Lai said, adding that he hopes to see more cooperation between the two sides in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, especially in tourism.
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
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79
RSS