Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu said Nov. 15 that Taiwan will not succumb to authoritarian expansion and called on members of the free world to stand in unity to defend democracy.
The minister made the remarks during an interview in Taipei City with a delegation from 16 Japanese media outlets for an article by Tokyo-based Kyodo News and published by many outlets in the North Asian country later the same day.
According to the minister, geopolitical confrontation between democracies and authoritarian regimes has become increasingly fierce, citing the U.S-China standoff and Russian invasion of Ukraine. As Taiwan is working with European countries to assist Ukraine, most democracies now see Taiwan as a partner, he added.
Wu said China’s authoritarian expansion in the Indo-Pacific poses threats to Taiwan as well as to neighbors like Japan and the Philippines. He added that Beijing also routinely interferes with marine passage and freedom of navigation by the U.S., Canada and Australia in the South China Sea, thus prompting these countries to strengthen strategic partnerships to avoid confrontations in the region.
Beijing is using gray-zone tactics and cognitive warfare against Taiwan with greater frequency and trying to interfere with the upcoming elections. While Taiwan does its best to avoid confrontation with China, the government will never acquiesce to such pressure, Wu said.
The minister said Taiwan has become a key issue in recent meetings of major democratic leaders. For example, the U.S. has voiced concern and called on China to stop its attempts at coercion and interference, he said, urging Japan to follow suit. Wu added that such support for Taiwan will not be affected by tensions in the Middle East or other developments. (SFC-E)
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