US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday said the United States is determined to de-escalate tensions over the Taiwan Strait to keep the region, including the Philippines, safe and ensure unimpeded access to the major waterway, where a huge bulk of trading ships pass through.
“Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is vital not only for Taiwan but for the Philippines and many other countries,” Blinken said in a virtual joint press conference with Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo in Manila.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a virtual joint news conference with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo at the Peninsula Hotel in Manila on Saturday, August 6, 2022.Enraged by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, China held its largest military drill near the self-governing island on Thursday, firing live missiles and deployed scores of planes. Japan said five missiles landed on its economic zone.“For 40 years plus we managed this problem.
Amid brewing tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the Philippines expressed its commitment to the One-China policy but noted that lines of communication must remain open among concerned parties to avoid a crisis in the Taiwan Strait. “We are already facing a number of challenges getting our economy back to work, especially because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Manalo said. “We look at the United States, a very important ally, our dear friend, as we chart our path forward.”
Blinken defended Pelosi’s solidarity trip to Taiwan, calling it a “peaceful visit,” adding there has been a “long, long history” of US lawmakers visiting Taiwan, but did not provoke intense reaction from Beijing in such scale.
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