Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry welcomed comments from officials in the United States and Japan for their commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The comments were part of a joint statement between the governments of Japan and the United States released on Wednesday at the end of their 2+2 defense talks in Washington.
The 2+2 talks included both the foreign and defense ministers from both countries. Their joint statement contained a section dedicated to a “new era of strategic competition,” which dealt primarily with the challenge of a rising China.
The United States reaffirmed its stance that the disputed Senkaku Islands are covered under the US-Japan security alliance. The islands are known as the Diaoyutai in Chinese and are contested by Beijing. The statement said that China’s aggressive behavior represents “the greatest strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) says Taiwan welcomes the support from Japan and the United States. She adds that Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation with like-minded countries such as the United States and Japan. Ou says Taiwan will work with these countries to defend universal values such as democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.
