The world should prepare for possible war in the Taiwan Strait, should China attack Taiwan, a former Reserve Bank of India governor said in a podcast over the weekend.
“I do think we should be prepared for the possibility that China may act on Taiwan and the Western world will push back. That is a possibility,” Raghuram Rajan, a professor of finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, said in an interview on the podcast Figuring Out With Raj Shamani, released on Saturday.
Although Rajan said he hoped a war was not imminent, he urged caution on China.
Photo: Bloomberg
The Chinese he engages with say their country would not start a war, “but who knows?” he said.
“The problem with more authoritarian countries is — it’s all in the mind of the leader,” which is unpredictable, he said.
The world order is changing with the rise of China and India, and possibly Brazil, Rajan said, adding that China, the US and the EU might be India’s biggest competitors in the new world order.
Other fast-growing nations of rising importance include Indonesia, Mexico and Nigeria, he said.
However, the UN is too weak to establish peace, so “a stronger organization for global peace” is needed, he said.
Regarding India’s development, he said the country should focus on “opening up and engaging with the world,” as well as creating a friendly image to avoid being seen as an “ugly superpower.”
China’s “wolf warrior” behavior, which aims to create fear in other countries, has provoked adverse reactions from nations, such as tariffs imposed on Chinese goods and international disputes, Rajan said.
China has become increasingly authoritarian, which stifles innovation and creativity, and, in turn, drags down its economic growth, he said.
India should avoid acting like China on the world stage or it would drive away investment, trade and talent, he said.
India should also use its soft power to present itself as “a microcosm of global civilization” that is diverse, open and inclusive, he said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session yesterday while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival- threatening
RSS