Taiwan could play a pivotal role in coast guard activities and cybersecurity in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwanese academics said on Saturday.
They made the remarks following reports that Taiwan might participate in activities of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a security grouping between Australia, India, Japan and the US also known as the “Quad.”
Leaders of the four nations issued a joint statement after a meeting in Washington on Friday saying that they were committed to “promoting the free, open, rules-based order, rooted in international law and undaunted by coercion.”
“We stand for the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values and territorial integrity of states,” they said.
The formation of AUKUS — a trilateral security alliance between Australia, the UK and the US — as well as an earlier joint statement by Quad members showed that the US seeks to expand the grouping, said Kuo Yu-jen (郭育仁), a political science professor at National Sun Yat-sen University.
Although the latest joint statement did not specifically mention Taiwan, the issue of Taiwan’s possible role in an expanded “Quad Plus” grouping, and the nation’s cooperation with the coast guards of the US and Japan were discussed at the meeting in Washington, he said.
“AUKUS was formed specifically as a military alliance, so its likely that the US intends the Quad to be something different — more of a mechanism for the four member countries to cooperate on a variety of issues,” he said.
Aside from cooperation on coast guard affairs, Taiwan could work with the Quad on the detection of submarines, Internet security and logistics affairs, he said.
Lai I-chung (賴怡忠), a consultant at the Taiwan Thinktank, said that the nation is likely to play a key role in international cooperation on technology and medicine involving the Quad members, as Taiwan excels in the two sectors.
Lai said that 5G mobile networks and other technology, supply chains, and vaccines were mentioned in Friday’s Quad statement, which indicates that Taiwan could also play a role in these areas.
“As the formation of AUKUS frees up Quad nations’ capacities, it can now focus its efforts on other areas that will strengthen the freedoms of other regional countries,” he said. “This will attract more countries to participate in a Quad Plus.”
Asked whether Taiwan could participate in military drills with Quad countries, Lai said that such maneuvers would not make use of Taiwan’s strengths.
However he said that by “improving its defensive capabilities, Taiwan would be contributing to regional stability.”
Under AUKUS, Australia would likely commit its troops to helping Taiwan should a war break out in the Taiwan Strait, he said, adding that Japan would likely also commit its military to the cause.
“Taiwan just needs to focus on its asymmetrical warfare capabilities, strengthen its defenses and work out how to coordinate its defenses with the US, Japan and Australia,” he said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard