Politics

US, Japan, South Korea meet to discuss Taiwan Strait crisis

Washington, Sep 1 (EFE).- The national security heads of the United States, Japan and South Korea met Thursday in Hawaii to discuss the crisis sparked with China in the Taiwan Strait.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan of the US, National Security Secretariat Secretary General Akiba Takeo of Japan and National Security Office Director Kim Sung-han of the Republic of Korea met at the Headquarters of the US Indo-Pacific Command in Honolulu “to address protecting and advancing the rules based international order,” the White House said in a statement.

“They discussed their joint commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and condemned the DPRK’s continued development of its ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs, and Russian aggression in Ukraine” the White House added.

At the meeting, the US reaffirmed its “ironclad alliance commitments” to Tokyo and Seoul, including to extended deterrence and cooperation on the security and prosperity of their citizens.

The advisors also discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties based on a “shared vision” for a “free and open” Indo-Pacific, according to the statement.

On Monday, China’s foreign ministry condemned the passage of two US Navy warships through the Taiwan Strait the previous day and accused the US of deliberately undermining regional peace and stability.

This operation came a month after a fleeting visit to Taiwan by United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sparked tensions between Washington and Beijing and unleashed a crisis in the Taiwan Strait separating the island from the mainland.

China responded to the visit with the holding of military drills around the island that included live-fire exercises and the launch of long-range missiles.

The Taiwanese government called the drills “irresponsible.”

The US accused China of manufacturing a crisis and said it would continue operating through the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing claims sovereignty over the island and considers it a rebel province since Kuomintang nationalists retreated there in 1949 after losing the civil war against the Communists. EFE

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