New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters held bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the New Zealand capital of Wellington on March 18. The New Zealand government issued a statement afterward which mentioned that it had raised concerns with China over increased tensions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait during the meeting. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) appreciates and welcomes this statement.
New Zealand has publicly voiced concern over the situation across the Taiwan Strait on multiple occasions in recent years. The coalition government formed by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon following general elections last October has taken concrete actions to undergird its Indo-Pacific strategy as a demonstration of its commitment to regional peace and stability. A joint statement issued after the first Australia-New Zealand Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations held on February 1 this year also reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The concern expressed by Deputy Prime Minister Peters to visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang over the cross-strait situation points to the New Zealand government’s increased attention to Taiwan Strait security as well as the democratic community’s staunch support for Taiwan. It also underscores that security across the Taiwan Strait remains closely intertwined with peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Taiwan will continue to cooperate closely with New Zealand and other like-minded countries to safeguard security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region, expand Taiwan’s international space, defend democracy and shared values, and uphold the rules-based international order.
