Taiwan is not ruling out the possibility of imposing sanctions against Russia over its conflict with Ukraine, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, highlighting the nation’s willingness to contribute to efforts to peacefully resolve international conflicts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced that his country would recognize breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine held by Russian-backed separatists, saying that “Russian peacekeepers” would be deployed to the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.
The US and the EU condemned the move, announcing that those involved would be sanctioned.
Photo: Bloomberg and Taipei Times
The ministry said that if Taiwan imposes sanctions, they would include an export ban on semiconductors and other key components to Russia.
The sanctions would not negatively affect the domestic semiconductor industry, as chip exports to Russia are minimal, totaling only US$21.64 million in 2020, or 0.013 percent of the nation’s exports of US$15.55 billion, it said.
The ministry said it would continue to closely monitor the situation at the Russia-Ukraine border, adding that, as a member of the international community, Taiwan is willing to contribute to efforts to peacefully resolve conflicts.
A Foreign Policy report on Tuesday said that Taiwan — along with Singapore and Japan — supports US calls to implement restrictive export controls on Russia.
The US plan follows a relatively new pattern — dubbed the Foreign Direct Product Rule — which extends US jurisdiction over foreign-made products using US technology, the report said.
“All semiconductors on the planet are made with US software or tools in part, so this will catch any destined to Russia,” the report quoted former US assistant secretary of commerce for export administration Kevin Wolf as saying.
Foreign Policy also quoted other US sources as saying that some US allies in Asia are worried that China might adopt Russia’s playbook for launching an attack on Taiwan.
Top US diplomats, such as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, are monitoring the Russia-Ukraine situation with regard to possible Western reactions to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the sources were quoted as saying.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS