October 12, 2024
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the 12th ASEAN-US Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit in Laos on October 10 and 11. In remarks at the first meeting, Secretary Blinken stated that it was important to maintain a shared commitment to protect stability across the Taiwan Strait. At the East Asia Summit the following day, he again spoke on cross-strait peace and stability as well as pressing regional and international challenges and threats, including China’s provocations in the East and South China Seas.
Responding to a question at a press availability on October 11, Secretary Blinken highlighted the strong desire for all countries represented at the summit, including ASEAN members, to see peace and stability maintained across the Taiwan Strait. He stressed that President Lai Ching-te’s National Day speech was a regular exercise that China should not use in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions. He further reiterated the importance of maintaining the cross-strait status quo and opposition to unilateral actions by any party to change the status quo. He said that 50 percent of commercial container traffic went through the Taiwan Strait every day and that more than 70 percent of high-end semiconductors were produced in Taiwan. This showed that there was a strong global economic incentive to maintain peace and stability and preserve the status quo.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanks the United States for continuing to use key regional summits to underscore the importance of cross-strait and regional peace and stability and for stating unequivocally that Taiwan’s regular National Day speech should not be a pretext for China’s provocations. As an important member of the Indo-Pacific region and a defender of the regional status quo, Taiwan will continue to collaborate with like-minded nations to uphold cross-strait and regional peace, stability, and prosperity.