TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The international community should pay more attention to Taiwan's global importance, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said recently.
Speaking to BBC, Wu said Taiwan is on the front line of China's authoritarian expansion and is continuously subjected to its various gray zone strategic attacks and infiltration efforts, per a foreign ministry statement. If Taiwan falls, the security of other countries will also be threatened, he said.
Additionally, nearly 50% of international trade passes through the Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan is a major global semiconductor chip manufacturing hub, he said. The impact a regional conflict would have on the global economy would be far greater than the Russia-Ukraine war, Wu warned.
Wu pointed out that although China has attempted to influence voting trends, the Taiwanese know they must defend their existing democratic way of life and should not let Beijing decide the results of Taiwan's elections. If China were to succeed, it could potentially lead to similar actions in other countries, he said. Democracies should be vigilant of Chinese political sabotage and oppose China’s desire to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait through force, he added.
The foreign minister mentioned that Taiwan is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and deeply empathizes with its fight against Russia. The war has raised concerns about the potential for China to do the same to Taiwan, he said.
Ukraine's use of asymmetric strategies is worth learning from, and international support is crucial to ensure that the people of an invaded country are not alone, Wu said. Taiwan is actively cooperating with like-minded countries, including the U.S., to strengthen its defense capabilities through arms sales, improving soldiers’ training and equipment, and initiating military reform he said.
A conflict in the Taiwan Strait is neither imminent nor inevitable, Wu said, and Taiwan needs the support of the international community to jointly deter any Chinese aggression.
