MOFA hails support from 8 nations on Taiwan Strait status quo

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Thursday thanked eight European and Indo-Pacific countries for opposing unilateral changes to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement issued earlier this week.

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) welcomed the statement and expressed his appreciation for the countries' stance, MOFA said in a news release.

In one paragraph of the joint statement, the eight countries focused on peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, MOFA said.

The statement was issued Tuesday by foreign ministers and senior representatives of Australia, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, after they met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"We emphasize the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. We encourage dialogue and oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait," the representatives said.

MOFA said it welcomed the continued attention from the international community and like-minded partners to maintaining peace, stability, and the status quo in the strait.

In the face of growing geopolitical and regional challenges, Taiwan will strengthen its self-defense and societal resilience, while deepening cooperation with democratic partners, the ministry said.

The eight countries also said in their joint statement that security and prosperity in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are increasingly connected. They pledged to work more closely together on shared challenges, including threats across multiple domains and the resilience of their societies.