Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin on Tuesday called on China to avoid escalation over Taiwan, where Beijing has responded to visits from former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi and other US lawmakers with military drills around the nation.
“Any attempt to change the status quo by force would not be acceptable,” Martin said, adding that Ireland continues to respect the “one China” policy.
Martin also criticized China on human rights and its stance over Russia’s war in Ukraine, and rejected the idea that Europe is being squeezed between Beijing and Washington.
In comments that clashed with French President Emmanuel Macron’s call last month for Europe to avoid being dragged into a conflict between China and the US over Taiwan, Martin underscored a divide between the worldviews of China and Europe.
While he said Dublin would continue to work “constructively” with the world’s second-largest economy, he vowed to pursue the values of human rights laid out in the UN Charter and to voice opposition “when we see evidence of those core principles being undermined.”
“There is much chatter about US-China competition, and about the need for the EU to avoid being squeezed between these two hegemons, to build and main[tain] its ‘strategic autonomy,’” Martin, who is also Ireland’s deputy prime minister, said in a speech in Dublin. “I disagree with this framing.”
Martin said Ireland would continue to maintain robust trade ties with China, while also working to address climate change, pursue sustainable development and human rights, and building a global trading and investment system.
However, he laid into Beijing for failing to acknowledge that Russia started the war in Ukraine and urged it to use its “considerable influence” to end the invasion.
He also targeted China’s record on human rights, citing a UN report that noted the “arbitrary and discriminatory detention of the Uighur and other predominantly Muslim groups” in China’s Xinjiang region.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘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
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS