China is seeking justification for future military action against Taiwan by making frequent incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told the Guardian in an interview published yesterday.
“The Chinese may want to use another pretext of practicing their future attacks against Taiwan,” Wu told the British newspaper.
The military threat from Beijing is “getting more serious than ever,” as its warplane incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone have increased five-fold since 2020, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
One of the most serious military actions was the air and sea live-fire exercises launched by China after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, the Guardian said.
In addition to the military threat, Beijing has tried to exert pressure on Taiwan through economic coercion, cyberattacks, and cognitive and legal warfare, as well as isolating Taiwan diplomatically on the global stage, Wu said.
After Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) secured a third term at the Chinese Communist Party congress in October, “cross-strait communications may diminish even further,” Wu was quoted as saying.
Taiwan used to maintain some lines of communication with the Chinese side through Taiwanese businesspeople and academics, but those ties were severed as Xi purged CCP rivals at the congress.
In response to the growing threat from Beijing, the Taiwanese government has been gathering support from like-minded international partners, especially democratic countries, over the past few years, Wu said.
However, Beijing’s retaliatory actions against Pelosi’s visit “might cause concern in other countries [about] whether their support for Taiwan is going to actually damage Taiwan’s national interest rather than providing real support to Taiwan,” Wu said.
Asked about Australia’s relationship with Taiwan and China, Wu said that Canberra was facing “a balancing act,” referring to an Australian parliamentary delegation that arrived in Taiwan last week for a five-day visit, while it seeks to repair its relationship with Beijing.
However, “we don’t question the support of the Australian government, the Australian parliament, and Australian people for Taiwan,” he told the Guardian.
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT: A new committee would investigate a backlog of US weapons sales to Taiwan, said its chairman, US Representative Mike Gallagher The US should formally recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, and end its outdated and counterproductive “one China” policy, US Representative Tom Tiffany and 18 other US lawmakers wrote in a petition. “It is time to change the status quo and recognize the reality denied by the US government for decades: Taiwan is an independent nation,” Tiffany told the Epoch Times. “As our long-standing and valued partner, correctly acknowledging their independence from communist China is long overdue.” The resolution also asks the administration of US President Joe Biden to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations and to negotiate a bilateral free-trade
The Pentagon is preparing for US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Taiwan later this year, Punchbowl News reported on Monday, citing an official directly involved in the talks. US administration officials anticipate McCarthy would visit Taiwan some time in the spring, the report said. McCarthy had previously pledged to visit Taiwan if he became House speaker. He was elected speaker earlier this month. He had also said that he would have liked to join then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s delegation when she visited Taiwan in August last year. Pelosi’s 19-hour visit to Taipei marked the first time in 25 years
Taiwan’s Chou Chieh-yu (周婕妤) was crowned the Kamui WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Champion after shutting out British pool titan Allison Fisher 9-0 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the organizers said on Sunday. Following the championship win at Harrah’s Resort and Casino Atlantic City, Chou pocketed US$30,000 and became the first female competitor to hold both the 9-ball and 10-ball world titles since Briton Kelly Fisher in 2012. Chou, 36, won the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship in Austria in September last year after clinching a silver medal at last year’s World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, in July. “I’m very excited and it’s like
JOINT OPERATIONS: Participating in the IMET program, which offers professional training and education to military personnel, would boost Taiwan’s defense capabilities The US government is appropriating funding to help Taiwan participate in its International Military Education & Training (IMET) program to enhance interoperability and capabilities for joint operations of the Taiwanse and US militaries. The funding for Taiwan’s participation in the program is mentioned in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, a US$1.7 trillion spending bill funding the US federal government for the fiscal year 2023. It covers funding for military support for Ukraine, defense spending and regions affected by natural disasters. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that IMET is an important US
RSS