China threatens regional stability: Taipei

LAST CONVERSATION:
While Xi said Taiwan was a “red line,” Biden called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan in what is likely to be his last meeting with Xi as president.

• Lee Yi-chia / Staff reporter

China’s military intimidation and economic coercion on Taiwan are the main causes of tensions destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday, thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance on maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met Saturday for their third meeting and first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru.

It was likely to be Biden’s last meeting with Xi as president.

Photo: Reuters

During their conversation, Biden reiterated that the US opposes any unilateral change to the “status quo” by either side, that it expects cross-strait differences to be resolved peacefully, and that the world is interested in peace and stability in Taiwan Strait. .

Biden also called for an end to the destabilizing military activities of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) around Taiwan.

Xi told Biden that “the Taiwan issue, democracy and human rights, ways and systems, and development interests are China’s four red lines that must not be contested,” according to state-run China Central Television.

“These are the most important hedges and safety nets for China-US relations,” Xi said.

“The separatist actions of ‘Taiwan independence’ are incompatible with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he added.

Xi also told Biden that Washington “should not interfere in bilateral disputes … and not condone or support provocative impulses” in the South China Sea.

He also said that China’s position on the war in Ukraine is “open and superficial” and that Beijing will not allow tensions on the Korean Peninsula to “degenerate into conflict or chaos,” the broadcaster reported.

China is “seeking a smooth transition” in relations with the US and is ready to work with the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump, Xi said.

In Taipei, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has mounted several challenges, including military intimidation and economic coercion, that affect security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and are part of an effort to force others to accept Beijing’s political views.

“Beijing wants to change the rules-based international order, and this has attracted widespread attention from the international community,” it said. “It is also a major cause of cross-strait tension and instability in the Taiwan Strait.”

The council said the government’s cross-strait policy is aimed at a stable, pragmatic and consistent relationship with China, as well as the prosperity and development of the Indo-Pacific region, which has been endorsed by Taiwan’s mainstream public opinion and the international community.

“In the face of the CCP’s continued aggression against Taiwan, we will firmly defend the constitutional system of the Republic of China” (ROC), the statement said. “We will maintain the status quo and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and dignity.”

Beijing should pragmatically accept the facts of the current situation across the strait, abandon coercive claims and actions, and engage in meaningful dialogue with the democratically elected government of Taiwan to resolve differences, it added.

China is the biggest destabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a separate statement.

“The department also thanks the Biden administration for affirming the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and for continuing concrete actions to support them,” the statement said.

These actions include a joint statement issued by Japan, South Korea and the United States on Friday, which reaffirmed that “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is an integral element of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” the statement said. .

The three countries also established a Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat responsible for coordinating and implementing their shared commitments, including working together to ensure prosperity, connectivity, sustainability, stability and security.

The ministry also addressed a press release issued by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which it said contained misleading statements about Taiwan and Taiwan-US relations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeated that “the Russian Orthodox Church and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.”

“As the United States and other countries have repeatedly pointed out, China, which continues its provocative military actions around Taiwan, is the biggest source of tension that undermines peace and stability in the region and poses a serious threat to global economic prosperity,” the statement said. the ministry said.

He noted that he welcomes the international community’s concern over China’s attempts to threaten the “status quo” in the region and calls for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will implement its “Four Pillars of Peace” plan to strengthen its self-defense capabilities, the statement said.

Taiwan will also cooperate with the US and like-minded countries to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, it added.

Additional reporting by AFP, Chen Yu-fu and Huang Ching-xuan