TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Canada and South Korea emphasized the importance of Taiwan Strait peace in a joint statement released on Friday (Nov. 1).
At a summit in Ottawa, the foreign and defense ministers of the two nations said that “maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is indispensable to international security and prosperity.” The ministers also reiterated their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and the peaceful resolution of disputes. “We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific,” the joint statement said.
The ministers advocated for order in international waters based on the rule of law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. They expressed concern about tensions in the South China Sea, and stressed the importance of maintaining peace and freedom of navigation “in and above the South China Sea.”
The joint statement comes after China’s dual aircraft carrier formation exercises in the South China Sea last month. Fighter jets took off from the Liaoning and Shandong carriers and flew to predetermined airspace for combat drills.
On Oct. 20, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver sailed through the Taiwan Strait. The two ships transited waters “where high-seas freedom of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law,” the US Navy Seventh Fleet said in a statement.