TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Maintaining Taiwan Strait stability to ensure peace in the Indo-Pacific is the international consensus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Tuesday (Feb. 22).

Following French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s condemnation of China’s attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, MOFA Spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said at a press conference that maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is the consensus among the global democratic community and that security in the Taiwan Strait is indeed a crucial part of maintaining a "free and open Indo-Pacific region," CNA reported.

Ou said Le Drian's statement is an affirmation of French foreign policy in the region that has been made clear at the 2+2 talks between the French and Australian foreign ministers and defense ministers in August and the 2+2 talks between France and Japan in January.

The spokesperson emphasized that France is an important partner of Taiwan. The government will continue to deepen substantive exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, and will continue to work with France and other like-minded countries to defend shared values including democracy, human rights, and a rules-based international order to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, she said.

Ou also expressed gratitude to Le Drian for highlighting the importance of Taiwan Strait peace and supporting deeper economic and trade relations with Taiwan.