November 17, 2024
US President Joe Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Lima, Peru, on November 16. During the meeting, President Biden reiterated that the United States opposed any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side of the Taiwan Strait, that it expected cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, and that the world had an interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He also called for an end to China’s destabilizing military activity around Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) commends and welcomes President Biden publicly reaffirming the United States’ commitment to preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait during interactions with the Chinese leader.
MOFA also thanks the Biden administration for placing great importance on, and doing its utmost through concrete actions to maintain, peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. This included a joint statement issued after the recent US-Japan-ROK leaders’ meeting recognizing peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. In the statement, the three countries announced the establishment of a trilateral secretariat to coordinate and implement their shared commitments and ensure that their joint efforts would make the Indo-Pacific a thriving, connected, resilient, stable, and secure region.
MOFA also notes that China’s press release on the Biden-Xi meeting again included fallacious and misleading narratives on Taiwan and Taiwan-US relations. MOFA reiterates that neither the Republic of China (Taiwan) nor the People’s Republic of China is subordinate to the other. It also stresses that, as the United States and other parties have repeatedly pointed out, China’s continuous military provocations around Taiwan are the biggest destabilizing factor for regional peace and stability and the biggest threat to global economic prosperity.
MOFA welcomes continued international attention on cross-strait peace and stability as well as concern over China’s threat to the peaceful status quo. As a responsible member of the global community, Taiwan will actively implement the Four Pillars of Peace action plan, leveraging its strengths to ensure peace. Taiwan is staunchly committed to defending itself and will steadily enhance its defense capabilities. It will also work with the United States and other like-minded partners to preserve peace, stability, and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific.