On Tuesday, September 10th, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy launched the “US-UK Strategic Dialogue” in London.
According to a press release from the US State Department, the two sides focused on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the talks also touched on security issues in the Indo-Pacific region. Blinken emphasized during a joint press conference after the meeting that maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is crucial for all countries around the world.
Blinken stated during the press conference that they also discussed efforts to ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, as well as freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.
“For both of us, maintaining peace and stability, maintaining the status quo is critical. Not just to us, it’s critical to countries around the world,” Blinken said.
Blinken and Lammy announced that they will make a joint visit to Kyiv this week to demonstrate their commitment and support for Ukraine. This marks the first such visit in over a decade.
Blinken mentioned that this joint visit reflects the “strong transatlantic support” from the US and UK, NATO allies, Indo-Pacific partners, and over fifty countries that continue to firmly support Ukraine.
Blinken told reporters that one of the reasons Russia is able to continue its aggression is because of the support provided by China, the largest supplier of machinery and microelectronics, which helps Russia maintain its defense industry base.
He added that the US and UK agree to hold accountable Chinese entities involved in supporting Russia’s war machine.
Regarding the prospects of reaching a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Blinken believes that “over 90% of the issues have been agreed upon and decided,” with only a few remaining challenging issues that can still be resolved.
He stated that the ceasefire agreement “will open up the possibility of fundamentally changing the long-term security prospects of Israel, including the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia and Israel.”