U.S., Australia Reaffirm Importance of Taiwan Strait Peace, Opposing Unilateral Changes to the Status Quo
On August 6, the United States and Australian governments issued a joint statement, which in part reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and their opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo.
The statement followed the 34th Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) in Annapolis, Maryland, on August 6 attended by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles.
In the statement, the secretaries and ministers “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and their shared opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo,” and “called for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues through dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.”
The U.S. and Australia expressed “strong concern regarding China’s military and coast guard activity around Taiwan,” they said, adding that they “reiterated their commitment to work together to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.”
The four officials “highlighted Taiwan’s important role as a critical partner for both countries and a leading Indo-Pacific economy and democracy.”
They also “committed to further strengthen economic, trade, and people-to-people ties with Taiwan and to enhance development coordination in the Pacific,” according to the statement.
In Taipei, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) thanked the U.S. and Australia for supporting Taiwan at the annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations over the past five years.
Taiwan thanked the ministers for unequivocally expressing their concern over the provocative actions of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and the China Coast Guard around Taiwan, it said.
The deluge of joint statements from the ministerial consultations of the U.S. and like-minded countries is evidence of a global consensus about the importance of maintaining Taiwan’s security, MOFA said.
“Taiwan is a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific region and will continue to collaborate with like-minded nations to defend an international order based on shared values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law,” the ministry added.
[1] Focus Taiwan
[2] Taipei Times
Taiwan Rejects Ex-Australia PM’s Description of Taiwan as “Chinese Real Estate”
On August 9, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) refuted former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating’s recent description of Taiwan as “Chinese real estate,” adding that Taiwan’s sovereign status would not be altered because of the “biased comments” of a few international figures.
“Taiwan is an independent sovereign country and is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China,” MOFA reiterated in a statement, adding that Taiwan “is not the property of any [other] nation.”
Keating’s remarks were “inconsistent with the current geopolitical situation,” the foreign ministry said.
MOFA was referring to Keating’s remarks during an interview with Australia’s ABC News on August 8, in which he claimed that Taiwanese are “sitting on Chinese real estate.”
“Taiwan is not a vital Australian interest,” said Keating, who served as Australia’s prime minister from 1991 to 1996, and suggested that Australia avoid involvement in any conflict between China and Taiwan.
Keating sought to justify potential military action by China by comparing Taiwan with Tasmania, an island state of Australia. “We would fight anybody touching Tasmania like the Chinese will fight anyone touching Taiwan.”
Keating, an 80-year-old former Labor Party leader, also expressed his belief that AUKUS — a trilateral security pact with the United Kingdom and the United States pitched as a bulwark against China’s increasing influence in the region — unnecessarily compromised Australia’s defense.
“We are better left alone than we are being ‘protected’ by an aggressive power like the United States,” Keating said. Asked why he thought the U.S. is aggressive, Keating said it is trying to “superintend” China.
Keating has made multiple comments in support of China’s claims to Taiwan in the past and has been a staunch critic of AUKUS since its inception.
According to Australian media, Keating’s recent comments on Taiwan have since been dismissed by incumbent Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton.
Taiwan’s MOFA also said in its statement that Taiwan and Australia were “like-minded partners” in the Indo-Pacific region with “shared strategic interests” and that Canberra had on more than one occasion expressed support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation with Australia across various fields and jointly promote peace and prosperity in the region, the ministry added.
References:
[1] Focus Taiwan
[2] Taiwan News
Taiwan’s MOFA Condemns Snatching of Signs Supporting “Taiwan” at the Olympics
On August 3, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) condemned incidents in which signages supporting “Taiwan” were forcefully snatched from Taiwanese spectators watching badminton at the Paris Olympics, saying the grabbing contravened the Olympic spirit and freedom of speech.
The incident took place during the men’s doubles match on August 2, when Taiwan’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin faced off against their Danish opponents in the men’s doubles semifinals in Paris.
A man was seen seizing the sign from a female spectator — later identified as Yang Chih-yun, a Taiwanese studying in France — before being removed from the stands by security. The sign was cut out in the shape of Taiwan proper and said: “Go Taiwan” in Mandarin.
The “violent act” of snatching the sign not only “seriously violated the spirit of civilization represented by the Olympic Games” but also “contravened the rule of law and infringed on the freedom of speech,” MOFA said in a statement.
In a separate incident during the same game, an Olympics staff member was “overzealous” in removing a green towel that read “Taiwan In,” the ministry said, adding that it has instructed Taiwan’s representative office in France to issue a complaint to the Paris Games’ organizing committee over the “use of excessive force.”
The towel with the imprinted Taiwan logo was a celebratory souvenir sold to the public after Lee and Wang won the men’s doubles gold at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.
In another incident on August 2, two Reuters journalists saw a spectator with a green banner reading “Taiwan go for it” being bodily removed up a staircase, shouting, while Taiwanese shuttler Chou Tien-chen was playing.
The MOFA also condemned the forcible removal.
According to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) website, regulations currently stipulate that spectators are forbidden from carrying flags that do not legally represent any participating country, nor can they carry any type of flag or banner exceeding 2 meters in length and 1 meter in width.
Although the national flag of “Republic of China” (Taiwan’s official title) is prohibited by the IOC, there is no explicit ban on signs or items that have the word “Taiwan” written on them, Taiwan’s Representative Office in France said.
Since 1984, under China’s pressure, the IOC has unfairly forced Taiwanese athletes to compete in the Olympics under the discriminatory misnomer “Chinese Taipei.”
