TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.K. must ensure Taiwan can effectively defend itself by convincing Beijing the cost of a military attack on Taiwan will be too high, former U.K. Chief of the Defense Staff Graham Eric Stirrup said on Thursday (June 9).

Speaking on the podcast Committee Corridor, hosted by U.K. parliamentarian Tom Tugendhat, Stirrup said the Ukrainian-Russian war has prompted concerns about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The U.K.'s primary goal should be to ensure the status quo in the Taiwan Strait does not deteriorate to the point of igniting a full-scale international military conflict, he said.

Stirrup pointed out that from a military point of view, Taiwan and Ukraine have two major differences: Taiwan is a key player in the international supply chain and it has the strait as a barrier. However, the strait can be a double-edged sword.

Unlike Ukraine, where other countries can provide weapons, ammunition, and assistance to training troops on land, it is very difficult for Taiwan to obtain similar resources via the strait, he said.

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who was also a featured guest on the podcast, responded that Taiwan is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine. Ukraine's asymmetrical warfare strategy has provided Taiwan with great inspiration, he said, adding the nation is looking to ally with more like-minded countries to defend itself.

Committee Corridor is a podcast program recently launched by the U.K. House of Commons to discuss issues that are of most concern to the committees.