July 31, 2024
Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr., convened the Philippines-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Manila on July 30. Following the meeting, they issued a joint statement reaffirming the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity. The joint statement released after the Philippines-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in April 2023 placed high regard on cross-strait peace and stability for the first time. This is the second time that the matter has been mentioned in this context, underscoring the significance that the Philippines and the United States attach to the Taiwan Strait issue. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) welcomes and affirms these statements.
MOFA thanks high-level Philippine government officials for publicly expressing concern about the situation across the Taiwan Strait on numerous occasions. Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. delivered a keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31. In his speech, he stated that peace, security, and stability were the business of all countries and that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait must prevail. MOFA encourages the international community to continue to work with Taiwan and pay close attention to cross-strait peace and stability; support the values of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law; safeguard the rules-based international order; and staunchly defend the free and open Indo-Pacific region.