The United States and several of its allies, including Britain, Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan, issued a joint statement on Friday calling on Taiwan to be allowed to take part in a key meeting of the World Health Organisation next week. Taiwan is excluded from most international organisations because of objections by China, which considers the democratically governed island its territory. Taiwan attended the WHO's World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer from 2009 to 2016 under the administration of then-President Ma Ying-jeou, who signed landmark trade and tourism agreements with China.