Without Taiwan, the US could lose the Indo-Pacific region, former US ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft told an online forum yesterday, advocating Taiwan’s participation in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) that comprises the US, Japan, India and Australia.
Craft made the remarks at the Ketagalan Forum — 2021 Asia-Pacific Security Dialogue. The event, held online, was cohosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation.
Craft had planned to visit Taiwan from Jan. 13 to 15, shortly before she left office after former US president Donald Trump’s election defeat, but the US Department of State abruptly canceled the plan, as well as all other official visits, citing a need to focus on the transition to the administration of incoming US President Joe Biden.
Photo copied by Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
In her keynote speech, Craft said that what happens in Afghanistan has implications for people everywhere and “we should be worried.”
She condemned China’s Global Times for trying to cast doubt over the US’ commitment to Taiwan.
“Shame on them for using the lives of brave men and women as propaganda. I am here to assure you that they are wrong,” Craft said, after quoting a paragraph from the newspaper’s English-language editorial “Afghan abandonment a lesson for Taiwan’s DPP” published on Aug. 16.
“I was proud to support our commitment to Taipei during the Trump administration and as an American, I am proud to see Biden continuing that policy,” she said. “If Taiwan is lost, we lose, too.”
Taiwan should be included in the Quad as a “plus one” member, Craft said, adding that Taiwan should also participate in Japanese naval exercises.
She advised Taiwan to reinforce its relationships with Quad members, be it bilateral or trilateral, as well as its role in the 5G Clean Network led by the US.
While her title has changed, she has not given up on her fight for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN and other international organizations, Craft said, calling on the WHO and the International Civil Aviation Organization to include Taiwan.
Speaking in a panel discussion, Project 2049 Institute chairman Randall Schriver — a former US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs under Trump — also stressed Washington’s commitment to Taiwan.
“Our competition with China is about freedom and order in the Indo-Pacific [region],” Schriver said.
The Pentagon is becoming more serious about strengthening its deterrence capabilities in the region, he said.
About 52 percent of Americans responding to a poll supported US troops defending Taiwan if it were to be invaded by China, which is an all-time high, Schriver said, citing a survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs released last week.
If Taiwan is lost, it would be incredibly difficult to defend the first island chain, the Miyako Strait and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, he said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in her speech underscored Taiwan’s contributions to the world.
With the revival of the Quad and the EU’s proposed “Europe Asia Connectivity Strategy,” Taiwan is well positioned to serve as an indispensable partner on democratic renewal, and in sectors such as biotechnology, renewable energy and the semiconductor industry, Tsai said.
“We are willing to shoulder our share of the burden and we will not take our security partner’s cavalry for granted,” Tsai said.
Taiwan is also fully committed to collaborating with its neighbors to prevent armed conflict in the Taiwan Strait, and the East and South China seas, she said.
“We will always defend our democracy and way of life,” Tsai said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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