TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (???) gave a televised interview on France 24, discussing the recent NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and China’s aggressive posturing toward Taiwan.
In the interview, broadcast on July 13, Wu approved of the 2023 NATO communique that includes several items pertaining to China’s “coercive actions” and security in the Indo-Pacific. Wu said he appreciates that NATO is paying attention to the threat posed by Beijing and also urged European nations to strengthen relations with Taiwan, specifically through negotiating a bilateral investment agreement with Taipei.
In its communique, NATO identifies China’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies” as challenges to NATO’s interests, security, and values. The Chinese government reacted angrily to the statements, declaring that China “firmly opposes and rejects” NATO’s assertions.
When asked by the host how Taipei viewed NATO’s identification of China as a potential threat to regional and global stability, Wu said “I think NATO is taking the right approach.”
Wu said in his remarks how devastating a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be for the global economy. However, when asked about China’s potential plans for an invasion of Taiwan, Wu said that an invasion does not appear to be imminent, but the threat of such a conflict remains high and continues to increase.
According to Wu, China’s strategy is to maintain and increase incremental pressure on Taiwan to “compress” Taiwan’s reaction time and stress the country’s defensive posture. However, Wu said that Taiwan is committed to preserving its autonomy and is working with the U.S. to bolster Taiwan’s defensive capacity.
Wu said he was grateful to the U.S. for standing by Taiwan over the past few years as cross-strait tensions have continued to rise.
When asked about the likelihood of Taiwan signing a bilateral investment treaty with the European Union, Wu said that Europe appears to be working on an investment agreement with China, but is hesitant to advance any agreement with Taiwan before an agreement with China has been concluded.
Wu acknowledged this as a setback, but urged the European Union to consider its relations with Taiwan as independent of any other political entity.
Wu said that Taiwan is committed to pursuing an investment agreement for its own political and economic interests. He asserted that such an agreement would be beneficial for Europe as well as Taiwan.
The complete interview can be viewed on the France 24 website or on YouTube.
