TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Lawmakers at the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China summit adopted a declaration defining actions that undermine the Taiwan Strait status quo and urging democracies to form a joint strategy to counter Beijing’s coercion amid its “escalating authoritarianism."
This year’s summit, held from Nov. 7-8 at the European Parliament in Brussels, drew legislators from 28 countries, per CNA. Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) was invited to deliver remarks, marking Taiwan’s first participation as a full member since joining IPAC last year.
The declaration reaffirms opposition to any unilateral attempt to alter the Taiwan Strait status quo. Members agreed that coercive or forceful efforts to undermine Taiwan’s de facto autonomy constitute a violation of the status quo.
It then defined such violations as preventing Taiwan from exercising self-governance, denying it the ability to establish substantive ties with other countries, or compelling it to accept political agreements without the consent of its citizens or democratically elected representatives.
Any such behavior by Beijing should be treated as a breach requiring a “proportionate” international response. Any form of coercion or force against Taiwan, including seizing outlying islands, boycotts, blockades, embargoes, or interference in Taiwan’s governing system, is deemed unacceptable.
Democratic nations are urged to swiftly develop a “common strategy” to recognize, clarify, and defend the status quo, and to deter escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait. This strategy should signal to Beijing that "escalation would carry a huge price, both political and economic.”
It says commitments should be made to ensure unhindered maritime traffic through the Taiwan Strait, and every effort should be taken to prevent freedom of navigation from being used as leverage to alter the status quo. Governments are also encouraged to assess their economic exposure to a Taiwan Strait crisis and publicly release their findings.
The declaration urges governments to continue resisting Beijing’s distortion of international law, particularly UN General Assembly Resolution 2758. It also calls on them to clarify that any use of force against Taiwan would violate the principles set out in the UN Charter.
Lawmakers plan to initiate legislative actions in the coming months to push their governments to adopt the principles laid out in the declaration and develop relevant policies. They emphasized that peace and stability in Taiwan and the surrounding region are essential to global security.
IPAC’s membership continues to expand, with seven new countries — Estonia, Latvia, Serbia, Fiji, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Panama — and 82 new lawmakers joining since last year’s Taipei summit. The alliance now includes roughly 300 members from 43 national and regional parliaments, including the European Parliament.
