US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Reuters Next conference on Friday that Chinese leaders should think carefully about their actions toward Taiwan, warning of “terrible consequences” if China precipitates a crisis across the Taiwan Strait.
In an interview, Blinken addressed multiple foreign policy challenges facing the administration of US President Joe Biden, including faltering efforts to repair the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine and the spiraling conflict in Ethiopia.
Most acute might be China’s increasingly aggressive posture toward Taiwan.
Photo: Reuters
Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) has said tensions with China are at their worst in more than 40 years, adding that China would be capable of mounting a “full-scale” invasion by 2025.
Asked whether China would ever invade Taiwan, Blinken said “that would be a potentially disastrous decision.”
China had been trying to change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait in the past few years by engaging in provocative military maneuvers and trying to isolate Taiwan from the rest of world, Blinken said.
“I hope that China’s leaders think very carefully about this and about not precipitating a crisis that would have I think terrible consequences for lots of people and one that’s in no one’s interest, starting with China,” Blinken said.
When it came to whether the US would defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion, Blinken said the US remained “resolutely committed” to Taiwan and to ensuring it had the means to defend itself.
“We’ve been very clear and consistently clear over many years that we are committed to making sure that Taiwan has the means to defend itself ... whether that’s in defense articles and services, we will continue to make good on that commitment,” Blinken said.
Blinken also praised Taiwan for its efforts to become a strong democracy, as well as cultivate a strong economy and innovation, adding that Taiwan had made significant contributions to the world.
In other news, the US and the EU on Friday in a joint statement reconfirmed their interest in stability and the “status quo” in the Strait.
The statement, issued after US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and European External Action Service Secretary General Stefano Sannino led the first US-EU high-level consultations on the Indo-Pacific in Washington, also said that “both sides noted a shared interest in deepening cooperation with Taiwan consistent with their respective ‘one China’ policies.”
Additional reporting by CNA, with staff writer
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary