November 18, 2024
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, and Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani met on November 17 in Darwin, Australia. In the joint statement issued after the meeting, the ministers emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, called for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues, expressed concern over developments in the South China Sea, and reiterated their strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sincerely thanks Australia, the United States, and Japan for continuing to publicly reaffirm their strong positions on jointly maintaining cross-strait peace and stability and upholding peace in the Indo-Pacific. Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded partners to defend the rules-based international order and advance regional peace, stability, and prosperity.