TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.K. and South Korea reiterated the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait in the Downing Street Accord, which was inked on Wednesday (Nov. 22).
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said their position on Taiwan remained unchanged and that “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is an indispensable element in the security and prosperity of the international community.” The leaders said they opposed any unilateral actions that change the regional status quo, given the tensions in the East and South China Seas.
Sunak and Yoon also reaffirmed their commitment to international law, including freedom of navigation and overflight, listed in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. “We will strive for openness and transparency in the Indo-Pacific,” the accord said.
The leaders pledged further cooperation “to support an open and stable international order, based on the UN Charter and international law.”
The accord comes after South Korea partnered with the U.S. and the Philippines to hold a joint military exercise, KAMANDAG 7, on Nov. 9 to improve military readiness. The exercise ran from Nov. 9-20 and focused on humanitarian aid and disaster relief training, littoral search and rescue, coastal defense training, and amphibious operations.