Opposition to Unilateral Changes to Status Quo: AUKMIN 英澳外長及防長聲明 反對改變台海現狀

The annual Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial meeting took place on Feb. 1 and 2, in which the two countries made a joint statement, stressing the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The Ministry of National Defense tracked 14 Chinese military aircraft in the southwest sector of Taiwan's air defense identification zone and four naval vessels around the island on Feb. 2. Meanwhile, senior officials from Australia and the U.K. met in London and Portsmouth for the yearly AUKMIN meeting to tackle challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. In a joint statement issued on the 2nd, the Australian and U.K. ministers again highlighted the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and particularly this year, announced their shared opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo. Both countries would work on deepening their relationships with Taiwan and offer support.

Ben Wallace, Secretary of State for Defense, UK: “The human rights is being threatened by a range of characters around the world, and indeed, people are testing the sovereignty of nation states in a way that worries all, and whether you are in Ukraine or whether you are in the far Pacific, from the United Kingdom's point of view, there are values that are true and worth standing up for.”

Richard Marles, Minister for Defense, Australia: “The United Kingdom and the United States working together with us through the architecture of AUKUS to help Australia acquire a nuclear power submarine capability. ”

U.K. and Australia stressed their strong opposition to China's increasing military presence in the South China Sea. Officials also took the opportunity to visit the Australian Armed Forces which are providing training for Ukrainian Volunteer Corps in the U.K. to help them defend their country. Meanwhile, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed Japan's serious concerns over China's military actions in the East China Sea and military coordination with Russia over the phone with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Hayashi also stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Yoshimasa Hayashi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan: “Our bilateral relationship with China is very important. Japan and China should build a constructive and stable relationship. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang also agreed to work towards this direction.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will head to Beijing for the first time on the 5th. There is a chance he will be meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Nine Republican Senators wrote a letter to Blinken to remind him that U.S. President Biden has made a promise to Taiwan and that he should abide by the Taiwan Travel Act. They also urged Blinken to tell the Chinese leadership that their military aggression is unacceptable.

台海局勢動盪不安。國防部3日發布，偵獲共機14架次、共艦4艘次擾台；而共機進入西南空域，接近東沙島，我方持續嚴密監控。此外，英國跟澳洲外交和國防部長，在年度會議AUKMIN，聚焦印太區域現況。2日發布會後聯合聲明，除了比照去年，強調台海和平穩定的重要性，英澳兩國今年更新增共同反對改變台海現狀，承諾深化與台灣關係，共同合作支持台灣。

英國國防大臣華勒斯指出：「人權正受到世界各地一系列人物的威脅。事實上，人們正在以一種方式，考驗民族國家的主權，讓我們所有人擔心。無論你是在烏克蘭還是在遠太平洋，從英國的角度來看，這些價值觀都是真實、值得捍衛。」

澳洲國防部長馬勒斯表示：「英國和美國通過AUKUS（澳英美聯盟）架構，與我們合作，幫助澳洲獲得核動力潛艇能力。」

英澳強烈反對中國在南海軍事化，也視察澳洲在英國協助訓練烏克蘭志願兵。至於日本外相林芳正，2日晚間跟中國外交部長秦剛通電話。林芳正指出，中國在東海以及與俄羅斯合作的軍事活動，引起日本憂慮跟關切；同時，也強調台海和平穩定的重要性。

日本外相林芳正提及：「我方表示，日中兩國領袖的交流，有其重要性，為構築建設性的雙邊關係而共同合作；秦剛部長也表示，要更加朝此方向邁進。」

美國國務卿布林肯，將在5日首度出訪中國，有望會面中國國家主席習近平。對此，9位共和黨籍聯邦眾議員聯名致函布林肯，提到美國總統拜登表達對台承諾堅若磐石，呼籲布林肯依循《台灣旅行法》造訪台灣，實踐承諾，也能傳達美國強烈反對中國軍事挑釁。