Taiwan should be included in talks about security in the Indo-Pacific region, former US national security adviser John Bolton said on Thursday, adding that the US’ policy of “strategic ambiguity” is long outdated.
Bolton made the remarks in a videoconference with the Foreign Press Association, in which he discussed with association president Ian Williams how the US should respond to the security threats faced by Taiwan and Ukraine.
Bolton called Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine “very disturbing,” as NATO has not been able to drive the Russians out of the country, and the effects of economic sanctions imposed by Western countries are limited.
Photo: Reuters
“I don’t think China really wants wars with Taiwan,” he said, adding that China might spark a crisis, such as by declaring a blockade that requires the US, Japan and Australia to come to Taiwan’s aid.
If these countries take no action against China in such an event, “Taiwan will be in deep trouble,” he said.
US President Joe Biden in May said that US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, but later clarified that the US’ policy of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan “has not changed at all.”
Beijing expressed its discontent over the statement, saying that recent military drills it conducted near Taiwan were a warning against Taiwan-US collusion.
Bolton said that the US should fully recognize Taiwan, as it is an independent country “by any customary international law and definition,” and a “thriving democracy.”
If the view offends Beijing, “so be it,” he said, adding that the US would not be told which countries to recognize.
With the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and the AUKUS security pact with Australia and the UK, the US should take the opportunity to integrate Taiwan into security discussions in the region, which could make the whole area more secure, he said.
“Taiwan will be more secure to the extent people appreciate that it’s a legitimate democratic country, and they don’t want to be a part of China anymore,” he said.
Taiwanese identity has changed in the past 30 years, as more people consider themselves “Taiwanese” and fewer consider themselves “Chinese” or “Taiwanese Chinese,” he said, adding that the trend would continue.
If a war between Taiwan and China were to occur, a bilateral Taiwan-US operation could benefit greatly if joined by Japan, which has “considerable willingness to do that,” he said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
RSS