January 12, 2023
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin of the United States and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi and Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada of Japan convened the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee (2+2) in Washington, DC, on January 11. After the meeting, the Committee issued a joint statement reiterating the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and emphasizing that this objective is “an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) highly welcomes this statement and appreciates the governments of the United States and Japan for once again publicly supporting the preservation of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The joint statement pointed out that China’s foreign policy, which aims to reshape the international order, forms a serious concern to the United States, Japan, and the entire international community and represents the greatest strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. The United States and Japan also expressed concern over China’s actions in the East and South China Seas, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang. In addition, they confirmed their commitment to further enhancing interoperable capabilities, expanding partnerships, and optimizing their alliance force posture in order to better address evolving security challenges.
Recently, China has steadily expanded its authoritarian influence and posed a challenge to the global democratic order, thereby eliciting grave concern and unanimous condemnation from free and democratic nations worldwide. Taiwan, a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific community, will continue to deepen cooperation with the United States, Japan, and other like-minded countries. It will also endeavor to safeguard such core values as democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law; maintain cross-strait security; and jointly advance peace, stability, and economic prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.