US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, and Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held a trilateral meeting in New York on September 22. In a joint statement issued following the meeting, they emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, expressed concern about increasingly frequent destabilizing actions around Taiwan, encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues, and opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo. They also expressed support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung notes that this is the third occasion this year that a trilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea has reiterated support for maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, demonstrating like-minded nations’ high concern for Taiwan Strait security.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sincerely appreciates this latest joint statement and welcomes the international community’s continued focus on peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will continue to raise its national defense capabilities, strengthen its economic resilience, and cooperate with the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and other like-minded nations to defend peace, stability, and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and throughout the Indo-Pacific. (E)