Chinese military forces are preparing for a “massive” attack on Taiwan in the coming years, according to the island democracy’s top diplomat.
“We don’t know when or how the Chinese may use military force against Taiwan, but from our own standpoint, we need to be prepared,” Taiwanese foreign minister Joseph Wu said in a newly published interview. “Considering that China may want to launch an attack a couple … or several years down the road in a more massive way, we need to procure more items from the United States.”
Wu’s assessment stood as more than a justification for a flurry of U.S.-Taiwan arms sales, including the recent $2 billion deal for coastal defense cruise missiles intended to target any invading ships from the mainland. He put the Beijing-Taipei dispute in the context of a broader ideological competition between Western systems of governance and the Chinese Communist Party.
“China wants to expand its authoritarian order, and as a democracy, Taiwan has to be able to defend itself, so that Taiwan does not fall into [being a] victim of China’s expansionism,” Wu told U.K.-based the Guardian. “We have the responsibility of safeguarding our own democracy to show to the international community that democracy can survive and democracy is a better path for mankind.”
Mainland Chinese officials claim sovereignty over Taiwan, the last bastion of the government overthrown during the Chinese Communist revolution of 1949. Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed last year that Taiwan should be brought under the mainland government’s control while retaining its democratic system. The crisis in Hong Kong, where Xi’s team has gutted the “One Country, Two Systems” model that was supposed to preserve the former British colony’s traditional freedoms, has stiffened Taiwanese aversion to bargaining with the communist regime.
“We cannot assume that China will attack Taiwan or will not attack Taiwan, in what period of time,” Wu said. “But if we look at the Chinese preparation in the last couple of years, they have certainly intensified their military deployment against Taiwan, and also intensified their exercises around Taiwan.”
That statement dovetails with a recent assessment from a senior State Department official, who affirmed that “preserving Taiwan’s freedom and independence is a priority” for U.S. strategists, following an extensive review of U.S.-China relations. That survey called attention to China’s military buildup, warning that Beijing is moving to develop the ability “to deliver massive punishment against American power projection forces while thwarting the United States’ ability to provide reinforcement” if it attacks a U.S. ally in the region.
“The PRC’s strategy is not only to prevail but also to demoralize America’s friends and partners by demonstrating that the United States cannot meet its security commitments in the region — at least not quickly or at an acceptable cost,” the State Department review of “the elements of the China challenge” stated. “This strategy is especially pertinent to Taiwan.”
Wu urged European leaders to bear in mind the strategic significance of Taiwan — located just off the coast of China, between Japan and the Philippines — and its democratically elected government. “The like-minded countries need to come together, and we will be stronger together,” he said.
