TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Tuesday (May 2) that China's aggressive actions toward Taiwan represent "threats against us all."

During a talk at the Hudson Institute, Lipavsky said that China poses a systemic challenge to the present global order and its foreign policy is becoming ever more aggressive. He said that the regime in Beijing "does not even conceal its ambition to alter the international system anymore."

He pointed out that China has had some degree of success in pushing its governance archetype in the Global South, ramping up campaigns to bring international organizations under its sway, particularly those which establish international standards. While Russia has opted for military action, China has been "rather patient," but has also begun using intimidation as a diplomatic tactic.

The foreign minister noted that the Czech Republic has experienced these intimidation tactics by China following high-level visits by Czech leaders to Taiwan. He observed that China is stepping up its threat that military force "cannot be ruled out" against Taiwan.

Lipavsky emphasized that the West must make it clear that the "consequences of any attack on Taiwanese democracy would be huge," both in political and economic terms. He said that the best way to send this message to Beijing is for the transatlantic community to "act together."

He argued that Europe should boost cooperation with "democratic partners in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan." He then stressed that Europe must "leave no doubt that we consider all threats against them to be threats against us all, and that, as in the case of Ukraine, we will support them to the best of our abilities."

In response to Lipavsky's statements, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release on Wednesday (May 3) in which it thanked the Czech foreign minister for his "great concern and support for the situation in the Taiwan Strait." The ministry said Taiwan and the Czech Republic are "like-minded democratic partners" with frequent and close exchanges in various fields.

MOFA said since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war in February last year, the two countries have also "upheld the spirit of unity, cooperation, and humanitarian assistance among democratic countries and actively cooperated to assist Ukraine." The ministry closed by saying Taiwan looks forward to working with the Czech Republic and European democratic partners to "safeguard regional peace and prosperity."