US opposes any effort to change Taiwan status quo: Blinken
The United States opposes any unilateral efforts to change the Taiwan status quo, especially by force, and its policy on Taiwan has not changed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Southeast Asian counterparts on Thursday during the meeting in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.
"I want to emphasise, nothing has changed about our position and I hope very much that Beijing will not manufacture a crisis or seek a pretext to increase this aggressive military activity," said Blinken in his opening speech.
Cross-strait stability was in the interests of the whole region, he told a meeting in Cambodia, adding also that Washington was eager to hear ideas from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on how it could cooperate with the Quad.
Taiwan's defence ministry said on Thursday the Chinese military launched missiles from near Taiwan's Matsu islands earlier in the day, adding troops on the islands will continue to enhance their alertness level.
Earlier on Thursday, Reuters reported that two missiles were launched by China near the Matsu islands, which lie off the coast of China, and headed in the direction of waters off Taiwan's northeastern coasts, according to an internal Taiwan security report seen by Reuters and confirmed by a security source.