CaliToday (24/9/2025): The United States, Japan, and South Korea have jointly condemned increasingly frequent "destabilizing activities" around Taiwan and opposed "unlawful maritime claims" in the South China Sea, prompting an immediate and forceful denunciation from Beijing in a sharp escalation of rhetoric.
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| U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun meet in New York |
In a joint statement released after a trilateral meeting in New York on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi voiced unified concern over actions that threaten regional stability. While the statement did not explicitly name China, it was a clear reference to Beijing's escalating military pressure on Taiwan and its assertive territorial ambitions in the South China Sea.
The diplomats expressed strong opposition to any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force and reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The response from Beijing was swift and unambiguous. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press conference that his country "strongly deplored and opposed" the "irresponsible" remarks. He urged the three nations to "cease any form of connivance with separatist activities of Taiwan independence."
Regarding the South China Sea, Guo asserted that the nations should respect the efforts of regional countries to resolve disputes through dialogue and accused them of "exaggerating tensions and provoking confrontation."
Taiwan’s foreign ministry, however, welcomed the expression of support. Ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei told reporters in Taipei that the trilateral statement demonstrated the high degree of consensus among democratic partners on the importance of stability in the region.
"Taiwan will continue to cooperate closely with the United States, Japan, South Korea, and other like-minded partners to jointly ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the broader Indo-Pacific," Hsiao stated.
The trilateral meeting comes amid a period of heightened geopolitical friction. China, which views the democratically-governed island of Taiwan as its own territory, has significantly stepped up its military activities in the area. These actions include near-daily incursions by warplanes into Taiwan's air defense identification zone and staging large-scale war games that simulate a blockade and invasion of the island. Taiwan's government, however, firmly rejects China's sovereignty claims.
Similarly, in the South China Sea, tensions have festered for years. China claims almost the entire waterway, a crucial artery for global trade, under its so-called "nine-dash line." This claim overlaps with the exclusive economic zones of several Southeast Asian nations, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
In addition to the maritime disputes, the joint statement reaffirmed the three countries' "continued commitment to ending North Korea's nuclear programme," signaling a united front on another key regional security challenge.
