TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — UK Representative John Dennis reaffirmed close Taiwan-UK ties during a meeting with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), saying their shared interests remain aligned.
Dennis said the UK's long-standing policy towards Taiwan remains unchanged. He reiterated support for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and opposed unilateral attempts to alter the status quo, according to a Presidential Office press release.
Developments involving Taiwan will impact the UK and the wider world, regardless of geographic distance, he added.
The representative said the UK believes the prosperity and stability of Europe and the Indo-Pacific region are deeply interconnected. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have also reaffirmed the UK's commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, he said.
Dennis noted that in recent years, Taiwan-UK cooperation has seen significant progress from science and technology to energy and the net-zero transition. There has also been an increase in parliamentary exchanges and high-level visits between the two countries.
Dennis added that the UK supports Taiwan's international participation and has taken a more active role in the Global Cooperation and Training Framework. He said that the UK and Taiwan will continue discussions on various issues during Lai's presidency.
The UK has increasingly shifted its attention to Indo-Pacific developments in recent years. In 2023, then-UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced that the UK’s carrier strike group would be deployed to the Indo-Pacific in 2025.
The group, consisting of an aircraft carrier and escort ships, will visit Japan and partner with its Self-Defense Forces and other allies to help uphold peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. “Such deployments send a strong deterrence message while presenting important opportunities for engagements with key partners,” Shapps said.
The UK government has also issued multiple joint statements emphasizing peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in the past few years.
