August 11, 2024
Canadian Minister of National Defence Bill Blair and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles held a bilateral meeting in Vancouver, Canada, on August 8. In the Joint Statement on Strengthening the Canada-Australia Defence Relationship issued after the meeting, they reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and their opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo. They also called for the peaceful resolution of differences through dialogue without the threat or use of force or coercion. Both sides emphasized the importance of preventing and deterring conflict in the Indo-Pacific region and expressed concern regarding China’s increasing military activity in the South China Sea and the vicinity of Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) sincerely welcomes and affirms Canada and Australia’s staunch support for the cross-strait status quo of security and stability.
Minister Blair publicly confirmed on July 31 that a Canadian naval vessel had transited the Taiwan Strait. And at a bilateral meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore this June, he reiterated concern over military exercises China had been conducting around Taiwan since Taiwan’s presidential election in January. This demonstrated Canada’s consistent position of attaching importance to and supporting a peaceful, stable, free, and open Taiwan Strait. It also highlighted the fact that maintaining cross-strait security was a consensus in the international democratic community. As a responsible member of the global community, Taiwan will continue to cooperate with Canada, Australia, and other like-minded countries to steadfastly defend democracy and do its utmost to contribute to peace, stability, and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait, the region, and the world.