TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The United States and Japan reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait on Sunday (July 28), calling China the biggest security challenge in the region.
The two allies made the comments during their annual Security Consultative Committee meeting in Tokyo. The meeting brought together U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, per a press release.
The joint statement said peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is “indispensable” for global peace and prosperity and urged peaceful resolutions of cross-strait issues. It warned China against using Taiwan’s “transitional political period” as a pretext for provocative actions.
The allies accused China of trying to “reshape the international order at the expense of others” through a combination of military and economic pressure.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the U.S. and Japan for their concern over cross-strait issues, per a press release. It said China’s challenges to the international order have caused global instability.
Taiwan pledged to defend shared values of liberty, democracy, and the rule of law with like-minded partners such as the U.S. and Japan to safeguard peace and stability.
