January 14, 2023
President Joe Biden of the United States and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan held a leaders’ summit in Washington, DC, on January 13. After the meeting, the two leaders issued a joint statement reiterating “the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” and once again stressed that this is “an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) greatly welcomes and appreciates this second public declaration of support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait in a week by the governments of the United States and Japan, following a joint statement issued after the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee (2+2) meeting on January 11.
Recently, Chinese authoritarianism has continued to expand, posing a challenge to the global democratic order and causing concern among free and democratic nations worldwide. It is evident that the importance of preserving peace across the Taiwan Strait has become a widespread consensus in the international community. As a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan will continue to bolster its self-defense capabilities to counter possible threats. Taiwan will also deepen cooperation with the United States, Japan, and other like-minded countries to safeguard security across the Taiwan Strait and jointly promote peace, stability, and economic prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.