Remarks on Preserving Peace and Stability across the Taiwan Strait (Blinken)

by Antony Blinken

We covered a lot of topics here in Phnom Penh, but let me begin with the situation in the Taiwan Strait. Yesterday the People’s Republic of China launched nearly a dozen ballistic missiles toward Taiwan. They landed in waters to the northeast, the east, and southeast of the island. Japan reported that five of those missiles landed in its exclusive economic zone, understandably causing them and all of us grave concern. The People’s Liberation Army has now declared seven restricted zones near Taiwan and say that they will extend a range of military exercises through Monday.

These provocative actions are a significant escalation. We’ve seen how Beijing has attempted to change the status quo on Taiwan for some time – for example, more than doubling the number of aircraft flown over the centerline that separates China and Taiwan over the past two years; pursuing economic coercion, political interference, cyber-attacks against Taiwan. Now they’ve taken dangerous acts to a new level.

The United States has conveyed to the PRC consistently and repeatedly that we do not seek and will not provoke a crisis. President Tsai has said the same thing. China has chosen to overreact and use Speaker Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to increase provocative military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait. We anticipated that China might take steps like this. In fact, we described this exact scenario. The fact is the Speaker’s visit was peaceful. There is no justification for this extreme, disproportionate, and escalatory military response.

Let me say again that nothing has changed about our “one China” policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Communiqués, and the Six Assurances.  We don’t want unilateral changes to the status quo from either side.  We do not support Taiwan independence.  We expect cross-strait differences to be resolved peacefully, not coercively or by force.

We’re not alone in this. ASEAN released a statement yesterday about the need to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait. The G7 has rejected Beijing’s attempt to coerce and intimidate Taiwan. There are serious concerns not only for Taiwan but for the possibility that these actions by Beijing will destabilize the broader region.

For our part, the United States will not be provoked. We’ll continue to do what we’ve done for a long time. We’ll support cross-strait peace and stability and a free and open Indo-Pacific. You’ll see that in the days and weeks ahead. We will stick by our allies and partners and work with and through regional organizations to enable friends in the region to make their own decisions, free from coercion. We’ll take further steps to demonstrate our commitment to the security of our allies in the region, including Japan. We will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows. We’ll continue to conduct standard air and maritime transits through the Taiwan Strait, consistent with our longstanding approach to working with allies and partners to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, which has enabled the region’s prosperity for many decades. Almost half the global container fleet and nearly 90 percent of the world’s largest ships passed through the straits this year. That’s just one reason why these actions by Beijing are so disruptive.

We’ll continue to support Taiwan in cross-strait peace and stability. Secretary Austin has directed that the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan remain on station in the general area to monitor the situation. In short, the world will see us continue to support the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and advance our shared goals throughout the Indo-Pacific. That is what the region expects of us: to be a steady and responsible leader.

Another major topic of conversation was the crisis in Burma. The regime’s execution of four democracy activists despite pleas from many – including the ASEAN chair, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, the ASEAN special envoy – has alarmed and horrified people across the region and around the world. I urge my fellow ministers to continue to press the regime to end its brutal violence, to release those unjustly detained, to allow humanitarian access, and restore Burma’s path to democracy. We also have to increase economic pressure, do more to stop the flows of arms and revenue to the regime, insist on accountability for the atrocities that have been committed, and we strongly urge the international community not to endorse the regime’s plans for sham elections next year. They can be neither free nor fair under present conditions.

One of the participants in the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum meetings, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, visited with regime leaders in Burma just a few days ago, calling them a friendly partner. That directly flies in the face of ASEAN’s hard work to bring the violence to an end.

On the matter of Russia, as we’ve said many times, the Kremlin has not only attacked Ukraine; it’s also attacked the UN Charter and ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, which enshrines the principles of independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity for all nations. Russia is a party to that treaty, as it’s a party to many other agreements that it’s signed over the years and now violates in Ukraine. It’s in the interest of all countries and people in Southeast Asia, the broader Pacific region, and the world that Kremlin end this aggression and its painful global consequences. We’ve heard many countries here condemn Russian aggression, just as they did in joining 141 countries at the United Nations for a UN resolution supporting Ukraine and calling for an end to the aggression.

I want to very much thank Cambodia again for serving as ASEAN chair and also for hosting us this week. The United States is grateful for our cooperation with ASEAN on so many urgent priorities, including fighting COVID-19, addressing the climate crisis, strengthening cyber security, ensuring freedom of navigation, supporting the lawful unimpeded flow of commerce. We support the central role that ASEAN plays in the region, and now we look forward to the summit in November, where we’ll launch the first comprehensive strategic partnership between ASEAN and the United States.

A few hours ago, Yohannes Abraham, a close advisor to President Biden, was confirmed as our next ambassador to the U.S. mission at ASEAN. He will be an excellent partner for all of our friends in ASEAN.

This has been my first visit to Cambodia as Secretary of State. I have to tell you I’ve been struck by and deeply appreciate the friendliness, the warmth of the Cambodian people that I’ve had an opportunity to meet and interact with. And I’m also glad to say thank you in person to our outstanding embassy team, led by Ambassador Patrick Murphy.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with a group of alumni from our YSEALI program – that’s the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative. I met with farmers and food producers from across Cambodia who are partners of ours through the global food security program Feed the Future. In my constructive and candid conversations with Prime Minister Hun Sen and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, we discussed the best way to ensure that all of Cambodia’s people enjoy a bright future by protecting democratic rights, preserving Cambodia’s independence, pursuing inclusive economic growth. The United States looks forward to deepening our partnership with Cambodia on these fronts and many more. We’re grateful for our longstanding friendship with the Cambodian people, and I thank Cambodia again for showing us such warmth and hospitality these past two days.

With that, I am happy to take some questions.