Taiwan is an “important partner to the EU,” a European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs draft report on security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region said on Tuesday, as it slammed China for threatening peace across the Taiwan Strait.
The report proposed that the EU take steps to bolster the safeguarding of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and to ensure freedom of navigation throughout the region, which accounts for nearly 60 percent of the world’s population.
The report was adopted by 56 votes in favor and eight against, with 12 abstentions, a news release on the European Parliament’s Web site said.
Photo: AFP
The report described the region as a new global center of competition, and expressed concern over China’s military expansion, aggressive speech and behavior, and incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.
Chinese activity would affect the EU’s strategic interests, and those of its political and economic allies in the Indo-Pacific region, it said, calling on the EU to work with democratic nations, including the US and the UK, on ensuring peace and stability in the region.
“Our European approach to the Indo-Pacific region should be pragmatic, flexible and inclusive,” Member of the European Parliament David McAllister said. “Diversifying relations, deepening and forging new partnerships in the Indo-Pacific is key to preserving peace and stability in the region.”
The report welcomed Taiwan’s involvement in regional peace efforts and reiterated the EU’s support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
It rebutted statements by Chinese officials equating Russia’s war with Ukraine to the situation across the Taiwan Strait, which might be intended as justification for potential military aggression toward Taiwan by China.
The historical background of the conflict in Ukraine is different from that of the tensions across the Taiwan Strait, and the world’s relationships with the two areas are also different, the report said.
A translation of the report into various languages is to take up to 10 days, after which the final version is to be released for further discussion at the next plenary session, the European Parliament said.
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