A joint communique issued by the US and South Korean governments showed it has taken note of the importance of maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait and reaffirmed security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Both sides “acknowledged the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” said the communique released after US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and South Korean Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun convened the 56th Security Consultative Meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
Such a position is in line with a joint statement signed by the two countries in April last year in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of their alliance, the communique added.
Photo: AFP
Austin and Kim recognized the “complex regional and global security situation” and reaffirmed their “commitment to strengthen defense cooperation” with partner countries in the Indo-Pacific to contribute to regional security, it said.
The two officials were referring to ASEAN countries as well as the Pacific island nations.
The security meeting, which the US and South Korea described as having “played a pivotal role” in expanding their alliance on a global scale, primarily focused on the two countries’ efforts to maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula and to deter nuclear threats from North Korea.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the US and South Korea for expressing concern regarding the security of the Taiwan Strait in the communique for the fourth consecutive year.
Taiwan would continue to work with like-minded countries such as the US and South Korea to contribute to “peace, stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and the region,” it said.
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