October 12, 2024
No. 351
The 44th and 45th summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) took place in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, from October 6 to 11. During the meetings, the United States, Japan, Australia, India, the Republic of Korea, and other like-minded countries expressed concern about the situation in the South China Sea and underlined the importance of peace and stability in the region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) welcomes and affirms these statements.
A chorus of parties at the summits highlighted recent tensions in the South China Sea. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba voiced concern about escalating militarization and unlawful coercion in the region. They also pledged to work on maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. The joint statement from the ROK-ASEAN summit called on all parties to respect international law and settle disputes in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In his remarks, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized that peace, security, and stability were in line with the general interests of the Indo-Pacific region. MOFA affirms the positions of the above parties, which correspond with the policy that Taiwan has consistently promoted with regard to the South China Sea.
Based on integrated diplomacy, Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded partners to uphold democracy, freedom, human rights, and other shared values. Taiwan urges all parties to abide by international law, UNCLOS, and related instruments to jointly defend the rules-based international order and advance peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. (E)