December 3, 2022
United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and European External Action Service Secretary General Stefano Sannino held a high-level meeting of the US-EU Dialogue on China and the US-EU High-Level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific in Washington, DC, on December 1 and 2. After the meetings, the two sides issued a joint press release reaffirming the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait where regional and global security and prosperity are at stake. In addition, they expressed concern about China’s provocations, which increased the risk of crisis across the Taiwan Strait, undermined cross-strait peace and stability, and seriously jeopardized regional and global prosperity. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) welcomes and appreciates that the United States and the European Union have maintained a consistent stance by continuing to firmly demonstrate support for Taiwan and express grave concern over China’s provocative actions across the Taiwan Strait.
On numerous occasions in recent months, the United States, the European Union, and like-minded nations have publicly reaffirmed the importance that they place on the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait. In August and September, the Group of Seven Foreign Ministers and the EU High Representative issued joint statements on the cross-strait situation. This underscores the consensus that the democratic community, including the United States and European countries, has reached on preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
At this critical time, with the Russia-Ukraine war still raging and authoritarian countries blatantly challenging the international order, the United States and its transatlantic partners in Europe have continued to show concern over peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and throughout the Indo-Pacific. This demonstrates the commitment of democracies to collectively safeguarding the rules-based international order. As a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific democratic community, Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded partners to strengthen the resilience of the global democratic camp, preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific, and jointly counter the coercion of authoritarian regimes.