TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned that if Taiwan were brought under Chinese control, “no place in the world could remain untouched” at the Taipei Security Dialogue on Wednesday.
Speaking at the event hosted by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, Morrison said safeguarding the status quo is vital not only for Taiwan’s survival but also for regional peace and stability, per CNA. He said the issue extends beyond semiconductors or democratic values to the wider free and open order across the Indo-Pacific.
Morrison, who has visited Taiwan three times since leaving office, said his government faced similar pressure from Beijing and responded by advancing security partnerships such as AUKUS to counter China’s regional ambitions. Any conflict over Taiwan, he warned, would carry “devastating costs” for all sides, even for Beijing in the event of a nominal victory.
He outlined the military and strategic risks of a Chinese takeover, saying the People’s Liberation Army could build air bases in Taiwan, deploy long-range missiles, and push its defensive perimeter to the second island chain, per UDN. Such a shift, he said, would upend the regional balance and force neighboring countries to live under Beijing’s dominance.
Morrison urged Taiwan to deepen cooperation with the US, Japan, and Australia while hardening both military and civilian systems. His recommendations included accelerating domestic defense production and protecting critical infrastructure, especially in energy and space.
He pointed to possible nuclear restarts and broadening Taiwan’s LNG supply options as energy security measures. Meanwhile, he advised greater space resilience through backup satellite constellations, anti-jamming, mobile ground stations, and protection against anti-satellite threats, per Yahoo News Taiwan.
Morrison said Taiwan has made tangible progress with indigenous missiles, layered coastal defenses, and rapid integration of unmanned systems into its force design. He argued Taiwan should keep prioritizing an asymmetric approach.
He added that deterrence involves not only hardware but public messaging and diplomacy, comparing Taiwan’s position to that of West Berlin during the Cold War — a society whose resolve and resilience became a form of defense in itself.
