April 27, 2023
President Joe Biden of the United States and President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea met for a leaders’ summit in Washington, DC, on April 26. After the summit, they held a joint press conference and issued the Leaders’ Joint Statement in Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Alliance between the United States of America and the Republic of Korea. In the joint statement, both sides reiterated the importance of preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the region, as well as strongly opposing any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific. President Biden further stated during the press conference that the two heads of state had discussed joint cooperation to promote peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait in the summit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) welcomes and appreciates these statements.
Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are the core of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. Recently, China has unjustifiably escalated coercion and military intimidation against Taiwan, posing serious challenges to regional security and stability and drawing significant concern from the international community. The US-ROK leaders’ joint statement underscores the high degree of consensus among the international democratic community on maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which are of great significance to global interests and must be jointly safeguarded by democratic partners. MOFA will continue to work with the United States and other like-minded partners to uphold democratic values and maintain peace, stability, and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and the region.