Taiwanese foreign minister Joseph Wu last week during an interview with Fareed Zakaria on his show CNN Fareed Zakaria GPS said that China was making claims which were against the status quo and those claims are not only ‘useless’ but can also be ‘very dangerous’.
Wu pointed out that China’s territorial claims in the East China Sea, South China Sea, Taiwan and parts of India contain the potential to disrupt peace in the region. Indian soldiers in June 2020 thwarted an attempt by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to encroach territory in Galwan Valley and other friction points across the LAC and Eastern Ladakh.
Following the clashes, at least 20 Indian soldiers died while thwarting their attempts and more than 40 Chinese soldiers died during the clashes. Both sides continue to discuss disengagement and more than a dozen Corps Commander-level meetings have been held between both nations.
India on several occasions made it clear that the rift in the relationship between both nations occurred due to China trying to alter the status-quo and not respecting the border agreements between both nations. Earlier this year, Union minister of external affairs S Jaishankar made it clear that for bilateral and trade ties to develop China should not alter the status quo across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
Meanwhile, the Taiwanese foreign minister expressed concern that China’s territorial claims are similar to what Russian president Vladimir Putin made before launching his so-called military operation in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has been going for at least ten weeks and more than a million Ukrainians are now refugees as Russians bombard Ukrainian cities.
“China cannot impose a precondition on us and say that we have to accept that we are a part of them,” Wu said, while highlighting that Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen advocated that Beijing and Taipei hold discussions to ensure peace across the Taiwan Strait.
Wu also expressed his confidence regarding the Biden administration and said that the current US government is keen to provide Taiwan with all kinds of help in case China attacks the island-nation. He referred to the US delegation which arrived in Taipei days after Ukraine was invaded by Russia.
“The people, here in Taiwan, are ready and prepared to defend themselves. We are asking the US and other governments to provide us with defensive articles,” Wu told Zakaria.
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