TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday (Oct. 17) said that China has changed its approach and is now operating on a "much faster timeline" to annex Taiwan.
During a talk with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before students at Stanford University on Monday, Blinken was asked by an MBA student to make a "quick" comment about the U.S. attitude toward Taiwan. Blinken started by pointing out decades of U.S. policy on Taiwan have been based on the premise that differences between Beijing and Taipei need to be resolved peacefully.
He said that this policy has been successful over the years, allowing people in Taiwan to "really flourish," benefiting themselves and the world at the same time. However, Blinken observed that in recent years there has been a change in China's approach to Taiwan.
Blinken argued that instead of adhering to the status quo which had been the case for many decades, Beijing has made the "fundamental decision that the status quo is no longer acceptable." According to Blinken, China is now pursuing "reunification on a much faster timeline."
The secretary of state said that if peaceful methods do not succeed, China is threatening to use "coercive means." He then warned that it is possible that if coercive means do not achieve Beijing's objectives, it may use "forceful means."
He said that these actions are "profoundly disrupting the status quo and creating tremendous tensions." Blinken said that this is not only a serious concern for the U.S., but the rest of the world due to the vast amount of commercial traffic that passes through the Taiwan Strait on a daily basis.
Blinken warned if traffic in the Taiwan Strait was disrupted by a military conflict, the impact would be "enormous" and countries across the globe "would suffer." He also reminded the audience if Taiwanese production of semiconductors was disrupted by a Chinese military action, "you would have an economic crisis around the world."
He said the stakes are high for both the U.S. and the rest of the world in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Blinken then emphasized the importance of using peaceful means to resolve differences in the strait and this is the reason for heavy U.S. engagement in the region.
Blinken expressed his hope that Beijing sees the merits of a peaceful approach to conflict resolution with Taiwan, rather than the use of coercion or force. He underscored U.S. commitments to Taiwan in "supporting its ability to defend itself" under the Taiwan Relations Act, while also stressing the country's adherence to its "one China" policy, "that hasn't changed and that won't change."
He reminded Beijing that the foundation of the U.S. "one China" policy is that there is a commitment to resolve differences across the strait peacefully. Blinken closed by warning that if China's policy on a peaceful resolution is changing "that does offer, unfortunately, prospects for a very challenging situation going forward."
