The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia.
Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO.
He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy.
Photo: Huang Ching-hsuan, Taipei Times
“They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such arms and ammunitions are to be applied in wars instead of in military parades in Beijing.
China has the obvious ambition of getting control of Taiwan, and the risk is increasing, he said.
If Beijing decides to attack Taiwan, it would cooperate with Moscow, meaning that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would call Russian President Vladimir Putin and “ask him to keep us [NATO] busy in this part of Europe,” Rutte said.
The situation showed that the North Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific regions are becoming increasingly intertwined, he said.
During Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea joined the war on the Russian side, while China’s delivery of dual-use items and Iran’s supply of drone technology to Russia have also aided Moscow’s war efforts, Rutte said.
It is projected that Russia could mount a full-scale attack on NATO territory within the next three to seven years, he added.
To address potential threats from the alliance between Russia and China, NATO must increase defense spending to boost its overall military strength, Rutte said.
It must also deepen its cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners to deter all potential military adventures, he said.
The foreign ministry yesterday said that Rutte has on multiple occasions since assuming his post in October last year mentioned China’s regional expansion and its ambition to invade Taiwan.
Rutte has also been calling on democratic allies to be aware of the authoritarian cooperation between China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, as well as the risks and challenges the bloc poses to global security and the international order, it said.
As a democracy in the international community, Taiwan would bear its responsibility to continue to cooperate with like-minded partners such as NATO and G7 nations to safeguard the peace, stability and prosperity of the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, the ministry said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
Central and southern Taiwan are to see increasingly heavy rainfall from last night through Friday due to the effects of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said Tropical Storm Co-May had weakened into a low-pressure system on Saturday, but that it strengthened again into a tropical depression (TD 11) near the seas around Japan's Ryukyu Islands due to favorable environmental conditions. The tropical depression is expected to persist for two to three days, moving west-northwest by this afternoon and reaching China's Zhejiang through the East China Sea tomorrow,
RSS