On Monday last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) signed a set of “outlines” on military operations “other than war,” to take effect two days later.
The outlines provide a legal basis for deploying troops overseas for purposes other than war. Xi aims to fight a civil war without allowing foreign intervention. His political ingenuity and ambitions should not be underestimated.
Here in Taiwan, calls for independence have grown quieter. The government can call for unity within Taiwan, but it cannot stop China’s political maneuvering in the international arena. The key factor at play is China’s claim of sovereignty and jurisdiction over Taiwan, but international law does not grant sovereignty or jurisdiction to China.
In an interview on the US’ National Public Radio on May 24, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) agreed with the interviewer that it would be best not to have a war. When the interviewer noted: “Taiwan does not formally claim its own independence,” Wu said: “We will definitely maintain the ‘status quo.’”
Will the foreign minister’s meek strategy of “We will not declare independence; you will not resort to military force” be effective in dealing with Beijing? Why does Wu not advocate for Taiwan’s sovereignty in the international media based on international law and the US’ Taiwan Relations Act?
As a Taiwanese, I am puzzled by Wu’s acceptance of the statement that Taiwan is not seeking formal independence. Did the US draw a red line? If so, that should still leave some wiggle room and allow Taiwanese the right to be heard. Surely President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “two-state theory” is not just a plan about a second republic for the Republic of China that only counts within Taiwan, but cannot reach the level of international law to achieve the nation’s normalization?
After transitions of power between political parties became possible in Taiwan, even Peng Ming-min (彭明敏), an expert on international law, argued that the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty no longer needs to be discussed, because what would be the point of talking about Taichung when the train has reached Tainan?
There are also some politicians in the pan-green camp who say that “when it comes to powerful countries, the issue of sovereignty cannot be solved by international law, because might is right and international law can only restrain small countries.”
However, China is poised to pounce. Xinhua news agency, as quoted by the Global Times, reported that the “outlines” signed by Xi “standardize the basic principles, organization and command, types of activities, activity support and political work, providing the legal basis for the troops to carry out military operations other than war.”
As China progressively encroaches on Taiwan, Taiwan must study Israel’s way of building its own strength. While Xi constructs a legal basis for invading Taiwan, Taiwan should be using international law to protect itself.
Taiwan’s sovereignty and statehood are issues that the international community has been unable to resolve. Xi’s signing of the “outlines” is a good time for international law and the International Court of Justice in The Hague to step in. If China launches a war, Taiwan must immediately dispatch experts in international law to take the case to the International Court of Justice. It cannot afford to be unprepared to do so.
How should Taiwanese respond to such a change in a time of great changes? As well as making adequate military preparations, it is essential to use judgements of the International Court of Justice to keep the Taiwan question in the international arena.
Chu Meng-hsiang is an adviser to the Lee Teng-hui Foundation.
Translated by Julian Clegg
With escalating US-China competition and mutual distrust, the trend of supply chain “friend shoring” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fragmentation of the world into rival geopolitical blocs, many analysts and policymakers worry the world is retreating into a new cold war — a world of trade bifurcation, protectionism and deglobalization. The world is in a new cold war, said Robin Niblett, former director of the London-based think tank Chatham House. Niblett said he sees the US and China slowly reaching a modus vivendi, but it might take time. The two great powers appear to be “reversing carefully
As China steps up a campaign to diplomatically isolate and squeeze Taiwan, it has become more imperative than ever that Taipei play a greater role internationally with the support of the democratic world. To help safeguard its autonomous status, Taiwan needs to go beyond bolstering its defenses with weapons like anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. With the help of its international backers, it must also expand its diplomatic footprint globally. But are Taiwan’s foreign friends willing to translate their rhetoric into action by helping Taipei carve out more international space for itself? Beating back China’s effort to turn Taiwan into an international pariah
Typhoon Krathon made landfall in southwestern Taiwan last week, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and flooding, cutting power to more than 170,000 homes and water supply to more than 400,000 homes, and leading to more than 600 injuries and four deaths. Due to the typhoon, schools and offices across the nation were ordered to close for two to four days, stirring up familiar controversies over whether local governments’ decisions to call typhoon days were appropriate. The typhoon’s center made landfall in Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District (小港) at noon on Thursday, but it weakened into a tropical depression early on Friday, and its structure
Since the end of the Cold War, the US-China espionage battle has arguably become the largest on Earth. Spying on China is vital for the US, as China’s growing military and technological capabilities pose direct challenges to its interests, especially in defending Taiwan and maintaining security in the Indo-Pacific. Intelligence gathering helps the US counter Chinese aggression, stay ahead of threats and safeguard not only its own security, but also the stability of global trade routes. Unchecked Chinese expansion could destabilize the region and have far-reaching global consequences. In recent years, spying on China has become increasingly difficult for the US
RSS