Taiwan will work to maintain the rules-based international order and enhance cooperation with the EU when facing China’s military expansionism, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Thursday, following the release of a European defense report.
The White Paper for European Defence — Readiness 2030, published on Wednesday, said that the shifting “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait and Beijing’s increasing military activities could raise the “risk of a major disruption,” with economic and strategic consequences for Europe and its Indo-Pacific region partners.
Presented by top European Commission officials, the white paper also outlined the “ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030” defense package, which aims to spend more than 800 billion euros (US$866.6 billion) to safeguard European security in the face of a changing global situation.
Photo: Taipei Times
Taiwan is grateful for the support, and welcomes the EU monitoring developments in the Indo-Pacific region and in the Taiwan Strait, Lin said.
The minister also thanked officials for expressing concern about Beijing’s actions “intensifying its political, economic, military, cyber and cognitive measures to coerce Taiwan.”
Taiwan would deepen cooperation with like-minded countries in Europe and work together to defend freedom and democracy, Lin said.
“We will show the world that we are determined to safeguard our democratic Taiwan,” he added.
China’s escalating actions in the region were contributing to the “deteriorating strategic context” and potential flashpoints in the Taiwan Strait, which would have a large impact on Europe, due to the disruption to the supply of strategic resources and materials for European industrial production it would cause, the white paper said.
As threats of hybrid warfare and cyberattacks are challenges that transcend international borders, the EU will reinforce cooperation and security arrangement with like-minded countries, the paper said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said that the European Council meeting in June 2023 was the first time the joint statement included wording on the importance of reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait, and that the EU is opposed to any military action or unilateral moves to change the “status quo.”
“Ensuring peace and security in the Taiwan Strait has become the common stance of the 27 EU member states,” the ministry said.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS