April 11, 2025
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Japan Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo on April 9. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the two sides strongly opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. They also emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of the international community’s security and prosperity and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues. Furthermore, the statement recognized that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and that of the Indo-Pacific were interconnected, stressing that continued Japan-NATO cooperation would benefit the security of both regions.
This Japan-NATO bilateral meeting was the first since Secretary General Rutte assumed office. It also marked the third time since 2022 that the two sides had issued a joint statement conveying a high level of concern over cross-strait issues. The joint statement underscored the fact that the security of Taiwan has become a common global issue and that the international community has formed a high level of consensus on countering authoritarian expansion led by China and Russia and on ensuring peace across the Taiwan Strait. In addition, it demonstrated that cross-strait peace and stability are closely related to not only the security environment of the Indo-Pacific but also that of Europe.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung sincerely appreciates and welcomes the support for cross-strait peace and stability that NATO and Japan expressed at their meeting. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates that Taiwan, as an important country in the Indo-Pacific and a responsible member of the international community, will continue to work closely with allied nations to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific; uphold the rules-based international order; and safeguard regional and world peace, stability, and prosperity.