October 19, 2024
No. 359
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) sincerely appreciates that the administrations and friendly members of parliament of more than 30 countries, as well as the European Union, have publicly expressed concern over the cross-strait situation or stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability after China once again recently launched military drills to intimidate Taiwan. Countries including Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Lithuania, and the Republic of Korea variously urged China to exercise restraint and stated that differences should be resolved through dialogue and not the threat of force or coercion.
The maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in the common interests of both sides of the strait and the international community. There is a high degree of consensus within global society over the importance of preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and throughout the Indo-Pacific. MOFA once again calls on China to face up to the reality of the existence of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and to respect the Taiwanese people’s choice of a free and democratic way of life, willingness to engage in international cooperation alongside China, and goodwill toward maintaining regional security and pursuing peace and shared prosperity. It urges China to stop using use military provocation or other means to threaten and suppress Taiwan and disrupt the regional status quo. Only this can facilitate the positive development of cross-strait relations and satisfy the expectations of the international community.
MOFA calls on all nations to continue to voice concern over the cross-strait situation and support Taiwan. Taiwan will further work with its diplomatic allies and like-minded partners to safeguard the rules-based international order and jointly advance regional peace, stability, and prosperity. (E)