Australian media yesterday cited Australian Minister for Defence Peter Dutton as saying that China would likely ramp up its pressure on Taiwan if Russia were to invade Ukraine.
A worsening of the crisis in Ukraine would likely have implications for security in the Indo-Pacific region, the Australian newspaper cited Dutton as saying.
One way that would manifest would be in China making greater encroachments on Taiwan, he said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Dutton said an invasion of Ukraine would cause instabilities worldwide. Citing an example, he said that for a decade during the Cold War there was instability in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world had also been affected.
Dutton urged the Australian government to pay close attention to the situation in both Ukraine and in the Taiwan Strait.
Separately, the chairman of the Defence and National Security Policy Branch of the Liberal Party in New South Wales, Lincoln Parker, on Sunday said in an interview with Australia’s Sky News that a successful Russian invasion of Ukraine would “leave the door open” for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
“Indeed, [US] President [Joe] Biden is not committing as many troops as some would like,” he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday published a report by US Studies Center senior fellow Bruce Wolpe, who said that if Russia invades Ukraine, China would likely seek to copy Moscow’s success.
“If Putin succeeds, and endures the sanctions and can tolerate the Ukrainian people’s uprising, and enjoys a resurgence of pride and glory across Mother Russia, [Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平)] may want to copy that playbook for Taiwan. And sooner rather than later,” Wolpe wrote.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
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