NATO leaders were yesterday expected to agree that China presents a security risk, the first time that the traditionally Russia-focused military alliance would have asserted it needs to respond to Beijing’s growing power.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan promised ahead of the meeting in Brussels that US President Joe Biden was attending that China “will feature in the communique in a more robust way than we’ve ever seen before.”
The senior White House official said NATO had a role in developing a shared military capability in response to China, “including in the nuclear sphere,” to engage in information sharing and act as a “forum for democratic values.”
Photo: Reuters
According to a copy of the alliance’s final summit statement seen by Reuters, NATO leaders would say that “China’s stated ambitions and assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security.”
Biden wants to create international blocs of democratic nations to act as a counterweight to China’s authoritarian system and its fast-growing economic and military might, and the topic was also high on the agenda at the weekend’s G7 meeting.
“There is a growing recognition over the last couple years that we have new challenges,” Biden said in brief remarks made shortly after his arrival. “We have Russia, which is acting in a way that is not consistent with what we had hoped, and we have China.”
Other countries have highlighted the importance of striking a balance.
“I think when it comes to China, I don’t think anybody around the table today wants to descend into a new cold war,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as he arrived at the gathering.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said it was important to engage with Beijing “on issues like climate change, arms control,” but added that “China’s military buildup, growing influence and coercive behavior also pose some challenges to our security.”
G7 leaders criticized Beijing over human rights in its Xinjiang region, called for Hong Kong to keep a high degree of autonomy and demanded a full probe into the origins of COVID-19 in China.
The Chinese embassy in London said that such mentions of Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong distorted the facts and exposed the “sinister intentions of a few countries such as the United States.”
“China’s internal affairs must not be interfered in, China’s reputation must not be slandered, and China’s interests must not be violated,” it added.
Stoltenberg also said the alliance’s relationship with Russia was at “its lowest point since the end of the Cold War,” blaming Moscow’s “aggressive actions” for the deterioration in relations.
Alliance members were hoping for a strong statement of support for NATO from Biden after several years in which then-US president Donald Trump dominated the summits, threatening to pull out of NATO in 2018 and storming home early in 2019.
“NATO is critically important for US interests in and of itself,” Biden said as he met Stoltenberg, describing NATO’s Article 5, under which an armed attack against one member is deemed an attack against them all, as “a sacred obligation.”
“I want NATO to know America is there,” he added.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
RSS