Taipei welcomes G7 statement on Taiwan Strait, vows to continue upholding democratic values
Taipei, Nov 13
Taiwanese government has welcomed the G7 statement on Taiwan Strait and vowed to continue working with like-minded international partners to uphold democratic values and human rights, local media reported on Friday.
Taiwan's Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo said Taipei will continue bolstering its self-defence capabilities and resilience and reiterated that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are important for global security and prosperity, leading daily 'Taipei Times' reported.
Kuo said Taiwan will continue working with like-minded international partners, including G7 members, to uphold democracy, freedom and human rights while fulfilling its international responsibilities.
She expressed Taiwan's gratitude to G7 members for continuing to monitor cross-strait developments and supporting Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organisations, the newspaper reported.
Taiwan's statement comes after G7 foreign ministers and the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy issued a joint statement following their meeting in Paris.
In the joint statement, they stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and reiterated their opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, especially through the use of force or coercion. They offered support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in the international organisations.
"We stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. In the context of China's increasingly assertive activities in the waters east of Taiwan, which threaten regional stability, freedom of navigation and the safety of international shipping, we reaffirmed our opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, particularly by force or coercion, or the threat thereof," the Joint Statement read.
"We encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues through constructive dialogue. We also expressed our support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations," it added.
China maintains that Taiwan is a part of its territory and needs to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Despite China's efforts, Taiwan, backed by strong public support, continues to assert its sovereignty and responds to China's incursions.
— IANS
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