According to the foreign minister, Kiev is the target of the dispute island in its looming conflict against Beijing.
Taiwan has observed the conflict in Ukraine and drawn several lessons for its own confrontation with mainland China, the disputed island’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, told CNN in an interview aired on Sunday.
Wu argued that Beijing is hesitant to move on the island due to what he described as Russia’s lack of progress in Ukraine and the international community’s response.
Taiwan “watching this very carefully,” Wu told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. “We try to see what we can learn from Ukraine in defending ourselves.”
Wu described Ukraine as being “on the frontline against Russia’s outward expansion,”He accused Russia of using its military “for its historical glory,”He said that it was similar to the China-Taiwan scenario.
Taiwan’s two big takeaways from the conflict are that Ukraine is using “small personal weapons to go against a large enemy,”And that the male population of this country is extremely motivated. “They want to serve in the military. They would like to be in the conflict zones fighting against Russia. That kind of spirit is enviable for the Taiwanese people,”Wu stated.
Wu’s emphasis on “asymmetric capability,” such as Javelin and NLAW anti-tank rockets – widely promoted as wonder-weapons in Ukraine – is consistent with President Tsai Ing-wen’s government’s focus on such armaments. Tsai also hopes Washington would come to Taiwan’s aid directly, she told CNN in October.
“When there’s a war, we need friends and allies to support Taiwan, as in the case of Ukraine,”Wu explained to Zakaria how Japan, EU, USA and Japan joined forces to help Kiev.
Although the US hasn’t sent any troops to Ukraine yet, Washington continues to pour money and weapons into that country “to fight against Russia,” Wu noted. “I think the Chinese government must be thinking or calculating how the US or other major countries are going to come to Taiwan’s help or whether they’re going to come to Taiwan’s help. If Taiwan does not have any support, I think that’s going to be a green light to aggression.”
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a speech last week that “a Global NATO”It must arm Taiwan, just like it did Ukraine. The day before CNN aired the interview with Wu, the Financial Times reported that the White House officials in charge of China and the Indo-Pacific have met with British colleagues to explore contingency plans about Taiwan.
Wu also argued that Ukraine’s ability to hold off Russia – which he attributed to “the desire to defend the country and the willingness to use personal weapons” – is giving Beijing reason to worry.
“If they are not able to take Taiwan over quickly, I think they need to pause and think twice before they act,”He stated.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China’s sovereign territory. The island is governed by remnants of the Nationalist Government, who fled to Taiwan after the Civil War.
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