Taiwan has welcomed support from major allies after a US-Australia ministerial forum pledged stronger ties with the island and the European parliament called for a bilateral trade deal.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the foreign ministry also cautiously noted the British prime minister\u2019s refusal to rule out getting involved in a war with China over the island, but said Taiwan was not asking anyone to fight on its behalf.<\/p>\n
The statements come amid rising international concern over China\u2019s aggression in the Indo-Pacific region and one day after the US, UK and Australia announced the Aukus pact, a significant new security partnership, widely viewed as a move designed to counter Beijing.<\/p>\n
On Friday, senior government ministers at the annual US and Australian ministerial consultation (Ausmin) stated mutual intent to \u201cstrengthen ties with Taiwan\u201d, which they described as a \u201cleading democracy and a critical partner for both countries\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States and Australia reiterated continued support for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues without resorting to threats or coercion,\u201d the joint Ausmin statement said.<\/p>\n
In response Taiwan\u2019s ministry of foreign affairs \u201csincerely thanked\u201d the US and Australia for their \u201cfirm and open\u201d support.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding on the solid existing foundations, our government will continue to work closely with the United States, Australia and other countries with similar ideas to expand Taiwan\u2019s international space, safeguard democracy and shared values, and a rules-based international order, and jointly safeguard peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,\u201d said ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou.<\/p>\n
Taiwan is considered at risk of attack or invasion by China, which claims it as a province, although the potential nature and timing is debated. Unification is a key goal of Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, who has not ruled out taking Taiwan by force. Beijing regards Taiwan\u2019s democratically elected government as separatists but Taiwan\u2019s president, Tsai Ing-wen, has said Taiwan is already a sovereign country with not need to declare independence.<\/p>\n
The Ausmin statement by government representatives was also highly critical of China over its actions in the South China Sea and human rights abuses. In response China\u2019s embassy in Canberra said it would \u201cfirmly oppose and reject the unfounded accusations and erroneous remarks\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis petty move to put pressure on China will be of no avail but a staged farce.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Thursday China accused the newly formed Aukus of having \u201cobsolete cold war zero sum mentality and narrow-minded geopolitical concepts\u201d. Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the decision to give Australia \u2013 a non-proliferation treaty signatory \u2013 nuclear technology was a case of \u201cextremely irresponsible\u201d double standards.<\/p>\n
As China\u2019s aggression in the region has grown and Taipei has courted alliances, western nations have pushed for greater inclusion of Taiwan on the diplomatic world stage and demonstrated increasing support for defending it against China.<\/p>\n
None of the Aukus nations recognise Taiwan as a country. They instead have formal ties only with the government of the People\u2019s Republic of China, which claims Taiwan as a Chinese province under its \u201cOne China Principle\u201d.<\/p>\n
Various other nations have their own \u201cOne China\u201d policies, which lay out the level of recognition their governments afford Beijing\u2019s policy. The US and Australia, for example, acknowledge but do not recognise Beijing\u2019s claim over Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Following Thursday\u2019s Aukus announcement, former British prime minister Theresa May asked Johnson: \u201cWhat are the implications of this pact for the stance that would be taken by the United Kingdom in its response should China attempt to invade Taiwan?\u201d<\/p>\n
In reply, Johnson was careful not to rule anything out. \u201cThe United Kingdom remains determined to defend international law and that is the strong advice we would give to our friends across the world, and the strong advice that we would give to the government in Beijing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Taiwan\u2019s ministry of foreign affairs would not comment on if or how it saw the UK being involved in the eventuation of conflict. Foreign minister Joseph Wu has previously told the Guardian he saw countries like Australia and Japan likely offering logistical or intelligence support, rather than military.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Ou said Taiwan welcomed the formation of Aukus \u201cbut it doesn\u2019t imply that we are asking the UK to get involved in the conflict across the Taiwan Strait\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are responsible for Taiwan\u2019s national security, we are not asking the UK or any other country to fight on our behalf,\u201d Ou said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course we would appreciate very much the support of the international community and like-minded countries, but that is not an imperative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also on Thursday, the European parliament passed a resolution which included recommendations for the European Union to \u201curgently\u201d negotiate a trade agreement with Taiwan. Earlier this year a years-long negotiated trade deal between the EU and China was essentially frozen after tit-for-tat sanctions arising from EU concern over China\u2019s human rights abuses, including in Xinjiang.<\/p>\n
This week China submitted an application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a key Asia-Pacific trade pact signed by 11 countries in 2018.<\/p>\n
The European resolution also called for concrete action to facilitate Taiwan\u2019s inclusion in the United Nations as an observer, and expressed \u201cgrave concern over China\u2019s assertive and expansionist policies in the South China Sea, East China Sea and Taiwan Strait, especially China\u2019s continued military provocation aimed at Taiwan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhilst China is an important trading partner, it is also a systemic rival that poses a challenge to our way of life and the liberal world order,\u201d said Hilde Vautmans, a member of the European parliament\u2019s committee on foreign affairs, in the statement.<\/p>\n
Margaret Lewis of Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey, said the EU resolution was significant given the recent spat between China and Lithuania over the latter\u2019s support for Taiwan, and to emphasise Taiwan\u2019s importance to the global market.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m heartened to see vocal support from the EU in part because as Beijing tries to bully Lithuania, it\u2019s important to show that\u2019s not going to work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe EU didn\u2019t need to make this statement \u2013 it was a decision to make a statement they know would not be viewed favourably by Beijing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Taiwan has welcomed support from major allies after a US-Australia ministerial forum pledged stronger ties with the island and the European parliament called for a bilateral trade deal. A spokesperson for the foreign ministry also cautiously noted the British prime minister\u2019s refusal to rule out getting involved in a war with China over the island, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n