Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu said Taiwan is working tirelessly to enhance its combat readiness and self-defense capabilities despite intimidation.
The minister criticized Beijing’s recent military exercises in response to President Tsai Ing-wen’s stopovers in the U.S. and her meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Such coercive military operations mirror the reaction to Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit in 2022, he said, urging members of the global community to explicitly express their discontent with China’s actions.
Wu made the remarks during an interview April 10 in Taipei City with Jenny Leonard and Debby Wu of Bloomberg for an article published the same day on the global media outlet’s website.
According to Wu, it is an established practice for Taiwan’s presidents to meet with congressional leaders when they transit through the U.S. en route to state visits with allies. The U.S. government has called on Beijing not to overreact, the minister said, also stating that China’s actions run counter to the U.N. Charter, which calls for peaceful resolution of disputes.
Wu said the government will continue to work closely with the U.S., stressing that its continuous arms sales under the Taiwan Relations Act and Six Assurances are vital to Taiwan. The minister also took the opportunity to thank regional partners such as Japan and South Korea for voicing opposition to China’s attempt to unilaterally change the cross-strait status quo. (SFC-E)
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