EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell called on European navies to patrol the Taiwan Strait, in an opinion article published in a French weekly yesterday.
Borrell’s comments in Le Journal du Dimanche echoed comments he made last week when he stressed how crucial Taiwan is to Europe.
He said that Taiwan “concerns us economically, commercially and technologically.”
Photo: Bloomberg
“That’s why I call on European navies to patrol the Taiwan Strait to show Europe’s commitment to freedom of navigation in this absolutely crucial area,” he added.
Two weeks ago, China launched three days of military exercises around Taiwan — simulating targeted strikes and a blockade of the nation — in response to a meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
On Tuesday, in a speech opening a debate on China at the European Parliament, Borrell talked about Taiwan’s importance to Europe.
“Taiwan is clearly part of our geostrategic perimeter to guarantee peace,” he said.
“It is not only for a moral reason that an action against Taiwan must necessarily be rejected. It is also because it would be, in economic terms, extremely serious for us, because Taiwan has a strategic role in the production of the most advanced semiconductors,” he said.
His comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month argued that Europe should not be a “follower” of Washington or Beijing in the event of conflict with China over Taiwan.
Macron’s comments, following a visit to China, sparked criticism from some politicians in the US and inside the EU.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the EU for repeatedly underlining the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The EU shows that it values and supports Taiwan by opposing any unilateral change to the cross-strait “status quo” and stressing that Taiwan is crucial to Europe’s geostrategic interests for its role in the semiconductor supply chain and maintaining regional peace, the ministry said in a statement.
As a key member of the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan will continue to deepen ties with like-minded democratic partners, enhance key supply chain resilience and safeguard regional peace, stability and prosperity, it added.
Additional reporting by Sally Liu
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
RSS