Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) members on Friday launched a campaign urging governments to assess the domestic economic effect of a shock in the Taiwan Strait.
The campaign, named “Operation Mist,” is aimed at compelling governments to admit that “cross-strait stability is in the domestic interests of nearly every country in the world,” IPAC said.
A war over Taiwan would result in a US$10 trillion shock to the world economy — about 10 percent of global gross domestic product, a report published by Bloomberg Economics showed.
Photo: Reuters
“No country will be immune from this economic fallout, which is likely to be at least five times worse than the economic damage caused by Ukraine,” the cross-national parliamentarian group said.
Ordinary people would have to bear the consequences if governments fail to de-escalate and deter a cross-strait conflict, it said, adding that “it behooves elected representatives worldwide to ensure this does not happen.”
“Operation Mist” was initiated by several cochairs and members of IPAC, including German member of the European Parliament Reinhard Butikofer, Dutch lawmaker Jan Paternotte, Australian Senator David Fawcett and French Senator Olivier Cadic.
Stewart Malcolm McDonald, a British lawmaker who is also an IPAC member, asked during a British parliamentary debate in January whether the UK government had conducted economic modeling on the potential impact of an economic blockade by China on Taiwan or a full-scale invasion.
British Minister of State for Indo-Pacific Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan responded, saying that the government is focusing on how it can “build resilience in UK interests and support partners.”
Speaking to reporters, McDonald on Friday said he believed the British government had simulated various Taiwan Strait scenarios, but is unwilling to release the information.
Like some other British lawmakers, Macdonald said the British government should make its findings and conclusions public.
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