TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Dutch parliament on Tuesday adopted multiple motions from Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China members in support of Taiwan.
Dutch MP Jan Paternotte on Tuesday said on X that the House of Representatives of the Netherlands had “stood with Taiwan” by adopting the motions. These include condemning China's military escalation, strengthening trade ties with Taiwan, sending a delegation to Taiwan, and calling for Taiwan's participation in WHO.
The parliament warned in a motion that "China is not only increasing its military threats against Taiwan in words, but also in actions such as large-scale military exercises and the purchase of an enormous cable cutter." It said that given that a military blockade of Taiwan would be disastrous for the European and Dutch economy, it requested the government to “always speak out against Chinese escalation" — such as large-scale military exercises.
The parliament said Amsterdam should advocate within the EU for the preparation of a sanctions package to deter a Chinese military invasion or blockade. It also called on the government to contribute to the deterrence through a new “freedom of navigation operation” via the Taiwan Strait.
A motion on trade ties noted that US President Donald Trump had imposed an import tariff of 32% on goods from Taiwan. It said trade between the Netherlands and Taiwan “is of great strategic and economic value and must be protected" and requested the Dutch cabinet to strengthen trade relations with Taiwan, including in the chip industry.
The motion that called for sending a delegation said the Netherlands has had bilateral contacts with Taiwan for 401 years and that the country has become a flourishing democracy and the Netherlands' second-largest trading partner in Asia. It pointed out that Germany sent a delegation to Taiwan under the leadership of Germany's Federal Minister of Education and Research in 2023 and called for the Netherlands to follow this example and send a government-level delegation to Taiwan.
The WHO motion noted that the parliament has voted in favor of Taiwan's participation in international organizations, and it was the first to warn the world of the risks of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. It urged the cabinet to vote in favor of Taiwan's “meaningful participation” in the WHO at the World Health Assembly in May.
