January 31, 2023
The France-Australia Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations were held in Paris on January 30 between Catherine Colonna, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs; Sébastien Lecornu, French Minister for the Armed Forces; Penny Wong, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs; and Richard Marles, Australian Minister for Defence. After the meeting, the ministers issued a joint statement expressing a shared commitment to supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, reaffirming their will to continue deepening relations with Taiwan, and underscoring the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) warmly welcomes and highly appreciates this statement.
In the statement, France and Australia called for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues through dialogue without the threat or use of force or coercion. They also reaffirmed their opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo. The statement represents a continuation of France’s consistent stance of support for Taiwan last year in its National Strategic Review, its updated Indo-Pacific Strategy, the France-Japan Foreign and Defense Ministers’ Meeting, and numerous public statements made by Foreign Minister Colonna opposing unilateral changes to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
This latest statement demonstrates the staunch and friendly support of the governments of France and Australia for Taiwan. It also underscores that peace across the Taiwan Strait is indispensable to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific and maintaining stability and prosperity in the international community. Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation with like-minded international partners in striving to realize shared objectives and visions.