SEOUL: The foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan, and the United States voiced serious concern about increasingly frequent destabilising activities in the Taiwan Strait.
A joint statement issued after their meeting also expressed strong opposition to unlawful maritime claims and enforcement attempts in the South China Sea.
The statement did not explicitly name China despite ongoing tensions between Beijing and Washington and its allies over the disputed waters.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry welcomed the expression of concern from the three nations.
Ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei stated that Taiwan will cooperate with the US, Japan, South Korea, and other like-minded partners to ensure peace and stability.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a position that overlaps with the exclusive economic zones of several Southeast Asian nations.
Unresolved territorial disputes over various islands and features have persisted in the region for many years.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi held their meeting in New York on Monday.
The diplomats also discussed their continued commitment to ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
China considers democratically-governed Taiwan part of its own territory and has intensified military activities nearby.
Taiwan’s government firmly rejects China’s sovereignty claims over the island. – Reuters
