The secretary of state talked to his Chinese counterpart about the Philippines, Taiwan, and China’s human rights.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Chinese counterpart on July 27 that the United States and its partners will advance a “vision for free and open Indo-Pacific,” on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian regional forum in Laos.
It was the sixth meeting between Mr. Blinken and Mr. Wang since last year. The meeting comes as China is becoming increasingly aggressive against Taiwan and the Philippines and amid tensions between China and the United States over Beijing’s role in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“The secretary raised concerns about the PRC’s destabilizing actions in the South China Sea, including at Second Thomas Shoal, and affirmed the United States’ support for freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of disputes, consistent with international law,” Mr. Miller stated, using the abbreviation of China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.
“We applaud that and hope and expect to see that it continues going forward,” he added.
Taiwan
On Taiwan, Mr. Blinken emphasized the importance of “maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
“The entire world has a stake in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. And I think we are seeing the manifestation of that in our private and public diplomacy every day in terms of more and more countries around the world expressing the importance of maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Mr. Ratner added.
According to a readout of the meeting from China’s foreign ministry, Mr. Wang told Mr. Blinken that Taiwan “will not be a country in the future” and China is “working toward the goal of unification.”
“The secretary reiterated serious concern with PRC support for Russia’s defense industrial base and made clear that if the PRC does not act to address this threat to European security, the United [States] will continue to take appropriate measures to do so,” Mr. Miller said.
“We will not hesitate to impose additional measures as necessary,” he said.
Human Rights
Mr. Blinken also spoke to Mr. Wang about U.S. concerns about China’s human rights records.
“The secretary reiterated that the United States will continue to take necessary actions to safeguard our interests and values, and those of our allies and partners, including on human rights,” Mr. Miller said. “He underscored that it remains a top priority to resolve the cases of American citizens who are wrongfully detained or subject to exit bans in China.”
The letter also mentioned China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, as well as its abuses against Chinese rights defenders.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.