China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy has improved Taiwan’s international standing, as Beijing’s methods draw a backlash from Japan and the EU, academics said last month.
Tokyo and EU leaders on May 27 jointly called for peace in the Taiwan Strait, saying that they are “seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas.”
“We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues,” a statement signed by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel said.
It was the first time Taiwan was mentioned in a statement after a Japan-EU summit.
Arthur Ding (丁樹範), a professor emeritus in National Chengchi University’s Graduate Institute of East Asia Studies, said that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) “wolf warrior diplomacy is a blessing for Taiwan’s visibility in the international community.”
The Japan-EU statement should be viewed in the context of rising disapproval of Beijing in Europe and increasing concern over regional peace in Japan, he said.
Kuo Yu-jen (郭育仁), a professor in National Sun Yat-sen University’s Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies, said that the US, EU and Japan are likely to take steps toward increasing Taiwan’s security.
“China’s overassertiveness has alienated Western countries for quite some time, and this causes many European countries to feel threatened by China,” he said.
The inclusion of Taiwan in the statement can be understood as a rebuke of Beijing’s territorial claims over the nation, he added.
International shipping lanes in the waters around Taiwan are also a reason that cross-strait peace and stability has become an important issue on the global stage, Kuo said.
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