Taiwan is “everyone’s business,” as a crisis over Taiwan would have global implications, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, adding that US President Joe Biden’s administration has shored up Taiwan’s deterrence by strengthening alliances and raising global awareness about this issue.
The US administration oversaw “a greater convergence than I have ever seen in the approach to China” by key US allies in Europe and Asia, he told an event held on Wednesday by the think tank Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
Commenting on the US response to China’s “pacing challenge,” Blinken said the Biden administration has boosted Taiwan’s credible deterrence by aligning US partners.
Photo: AFP
“China says every time the word Taiwan comes up: Do not even mention it; it is no one’s business but our own,” he said.
“What we have been able to do is ... open the eyes of almost the entire world to the fact that, no, fundamentally [Taiwan] is everyone’s business,” Blinken said.
Nearly 50 percent of global shipping passes through the waters surrounding Taiwan, which also supplies 70 percent of the world’s chips, he said.
“If that is taken off the grid, you have got an economic crisis going right round the world,” he said.
Consequently, more nations have warned Beijing against changing the “status quo” or jeopardizing peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Blinken said.
“The demand signal coming from countries for China to act responsibly is more across the board and clearer and louder than any time that I remember,” Blinken said.
China’s interest in supporting Russian aggression in Ukraine is to “reshape the international system” to a mode “more reflective of its interests and values,” which involves taking part in any disruption that presents itself, Blinken said.
Beijing has put itself in an “increasingly difficult position” by allying with Russia, North Korea and Iran, as its aspirations for global leadership cannot be achieved without being perceived as a “responsible rising power,” he said.
China could not credibly claim to want to make peace in Ukraine while it supplies Moscow with arms to wage war, Blinken said, adding that the US has “put a spotlight” on China’s role in the ongoing conflict.
“We have seen countries around the world, and particularly in Europe, say: ‘No, this has got to stop,’ and even taking action against Chinese companies, against Chinese entities that are engaged in this practice,” he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern
RSS