The AUKUS partnership would help promote cross-strait peace and stability, said US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who earlier on Wednesday discussed China with European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino.
Campbell and Sannino in a telephone call “discussed the challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China,” US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The two agreed on “the need to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Miller said.
Photo: Reuters
It was the second time Campbell mentioned the situation in the Taiwan Strait on the same day, following a conversation he had with Washington-based think tank the Center for a New American Security to discuss the AUKUS security partnership between the US, the UK and Australia.
As a key part of the AUKUS agreement, the US and the UK plan to supply Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines in an effort to counter China’s aggression in the region.
The cooperation would bring additional capacity to “help strengthen deterrence” and it would “have enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including cross-strait circumstances,” Campbell said.
The remark was “a rare linkage between Taiwan and AUKUS” from the three governments, which have been reluctant to publicly tie AUKUS to growing tensions over Taiwan, Reuters reported yesterday.
Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) in an interview with Danish daily Berlingske published on Wednesday urged Denmark to respect the desires of people who want to be known as Taiwanese.
The newspaper last month reported that at least 10 Taiwanese reported being listed as citizens of “China” instead of “Taiwan” on their residence cards issued by Danish authorities.
The Danish Agency for International Recruitment, which is in charge of the issuance of the cards, said that changing the country of origin for Taiwanese to “China” was a correction of a “regrettable mistake.”
The will of Taiwanese should be respected, Wu said, adding that Taiwan and China do not belong to each other, a fact that is widely recognized by countries around the world.
As democracies worldwide are fighting against the expansion of authoritarianism, Denmark should be a democratic model and not equate democratic Taiwan with authoritarian China, he said.
Viewing Taiwan as a part of China would help Beijing justify its ambition to launch military operations against the nation, he said.
An annual report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy adopted by the European Parliament in February states that Chinese territorial claims over Taiwan “have no basis in international law,” Wu said.
Taiwanese greatly admire the support of Denmark and other EU members to Ukraine and hope they could in the same manner support Taiwan’s fight against authoritarian aggression, he said.
Chinese expansionism poses a threat to global peace and stability, and must not be appeased, he said, adding that appeasement would not bring peace.
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
TRIP TO TAIWAN: The resumption of group tours from China should be discussed between the two agencies tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday reassured China-based businesspeople that he would follow former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) cross-strait policy to facilitate healthy and orderly exchanges with Beijing and build a resilient economy. “As president, I have three missions. First, I will follow president Tsai’s ‘four commitments’ to ensure that the country continues to exist and survive,” Lai told participants at a Lunar New Year event in Taipei hosted by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). Lai said his second mission is to uphold the “four pillars of peace” by bolstering national defense, developing a growing and resilient economy, building partnerships with
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his
RSS