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Editorial: Chinese presence in Haiti a threat

China is scheduled to send 125 riot police on a UN peacekeeping mission to Taiwan's diplomatic ally Haiti this weekend. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is concerned about this three-year mission. Not only will this be the first time Chinese forces have entered the Western Hemisphere, they will also be deployed in America's backyard -- the Caribbean. According to a Washington Times report, US officials are on the alert for the latest development.

Most of Taiwan's diplomatic allies are located in the Caribbean and Latin America. For long time, China has tried to persuade these countries to drop diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognize the People's Republic of China. Now, in its over-arching policy of psychological war against the Taiwanese people, Beijing is sending its police to one of our allies under the banner of peacekeeping.

In response, MOFA Spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶隆) -- who is also a former ambassador to Haiti -- said Tuesday that Taiwan is not worried, and that he is confident the 48-year diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Haiti will not be shaken. His remarks were also made to ease the minds of Taiwan's diplomats currently stationed in Haiti.

As for the US concern over China's move, the steady military and diplomatic expansion of the communist giant in recent years may challenge US influence in the region. As Beijing sends its police into a country traditionally under the scope of US influence, one American official told the Times that "China's first military presence near US shores would boost Beijing's long-term strategy to `supplant US influence' in the region."

This makes us think about the Cold War, when the Soviet Union did all in its power to enter countries neighboring the US. This led to the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, when attempts by the Soviet Union to position missiles in Cuba brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

Today, the Soviet Union is gone. Now, China, whose economy has been growing at break-neck speed, is showing its ambition to replace the Soviet Union in terms of military expansionism. China has taken advantage of its position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to send a police force overseas in the name of peacekeeping, and the world is now waiting to see if this will affect the current international balance.

Like our ally, the US, Taiwan holds the values of democracy and human rights in high regard. Taiwan's diplomatic presence in Latin America and the Caribbean have made undeniable contributions to the development of the universal values of democracy and human rights in the region. We have also helped our allies develop their overall economies, particularly the agricultural sector, in order to help the region out of poverty.

China's diplomatic attack follows a zero-sum strategy -- if China is there, then Taiwan cannot be there and vice versa -- so China must force countries to choose between the two. This means that Beijing, in the absence of diplomatic influence, must rely on other channels to undermine Taiwan's position with its allies.

Taiwan's diplomatic relations in the region make up a line of defense against formal Chinese entry into the region. Indirectly, this defense line also stops Beijing from building a foundation from which it can challenge US influence in the region. Taiwan's diplomatic presence in Latin America and the Caribbean is therefore compatible with both Taiwanese and US interests. The presence of Chinese military forces in the Caribbean is evidence that US-Taiwan cooperation must be strengthened.
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