Need for 'peace and stability' in Taiwan Strait: Blinken to China

NEW YORK: Amid the tension between US and China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday and stressed for preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Blinken, who is in New York to attend the 77th sessions of UNGA, "stressed that preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is critical to regional and global security and prosperity," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

Over an hour-long meeting, Blinken emphasized that the United States is committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, consistent with its longstanding one-China policy.

Both leaders discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship. "He also reiterated the United States' condemnation of Russia's war against Ukraine and highlighted the implications if the PRC were to provide support to Moscow's invasion of a sovereign state.

He underscored that the United States remains open to cooperating with the PRC where our interests intersect," Ned Price said as quoted by the statement. Earlier also, the US had repeatedly raised their voice on China-Taiwan relations.

On September 19, CBS released their interview with US President from its "60 minutes programme", where Joe Biden said that American forces would defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion.

Responding to a query over defending Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, Biden said the US would defend Taiwan "if in fact there was an unprecedented attack," according to The Washington Post.

Scott Pelley, the interviewer in the 60-minute programme pressed Biden on whether the situation would be different in the event of an attack on Taiwan.

"So unlike Ukraine, to be clear, sir, U.S. forces -- U.S. men and women -- would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion?" Pelley asked. "Yes," Biden replied.

The relations between China and US deteriorated after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.

That trip angered China's ruling Communist Party -- which views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having governed it -- and it responded by launching unprecedented military drills around the island, sending warplanes across the Taiwan Strait and firing missiles over the main island.