Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that the United States and Singapore just held a Strategic Partnership Dialogue in Washington to discuss a number of bilateral and regional issues. The joint statement of the two sides after the meeting included the issue of the Taiwan Strait for the first time. The United States reiterated that the differences in the Taiwan Strait must be resolved peacefully and Singapore emphasized the importance of stabilizing the relationship between the United States and China. The dialogue touched on a number of issues related to bilateral cooperation, including economics and trade, defense, security, and more. The two parties also discussed many regional issues, including tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the situation in Myanmar. The U.S. emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, called for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait differences, and expressed its opposition to any unilateral changes to the status quo. Singapore stated that stable U.S.-China relations are critical to regional and global peace, stability and prosperity and that the U.S. and China should maintain open channels of communication to reduce the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation. The first U.S.-Singapore Strategic Partnership Dialogue was held in 2012. It was held for three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016. It was suspended for many years and was not resumed until this year. This is the first time that the two sides have made a joint statement after the strategic dialogue on the Taiwan Strait issue. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Washington in March for bilateral talks with U.S. President Joe Biden. The joint statement issued by the two sides at that time only emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and encouraged the peaceful settlement of disputes, without mentioning Taiwan or the Taiwan Strait.
Source: CNA, October 26, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202210260040.aspx