Senior US and EU diplomats said in a joint statement on Friday that they are interested in strengthening collaboration with Taiwan based on the "one-China" policy and maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. "On December 3 in Washington, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman and Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Stefano Sannino led the first US-EU high-level meetings on the Indo-Pacific," according to the statement. "They reaffirmed their commitment to stability and the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and both sides expressed a desire to strengthen cooperation with Taiwan in accordance with their respective 'one-China' policies." According to the statement, both the US and the EU emphasise the importance of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Indo-Pacific area, which should stay open and free. Since 1949, Taiwan has been ruled by a separate government from China. China considers the island to be a province of China, whereas the island authorities maintain that it is a sovereign nation. The United States released a list of 110 countries invited to a democracy conference in December on Tuesday. Taiwan was included in the list, but not China. UK logs over 50,000 new Covid cases French Govt announces New travel restrictions European Union expresses concern over China’s problematic actions