NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte mentioning China’s bullying of Taiwan and its ambition to reshape the global order has significance during a time when authoritarian states are continuously increasing their aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
In a speech at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels on Thursday, Rutte said Beijing is bullying Taiwan and would start to “nibble” at Taiwan if Russia benefits from a post-invasion peace deal with Ukraine.
He called on democratic allies to boost defense investments and also urged NATO members to increase defense spending in the face of growing military threats from Russia and China.
Photo: Screengrab from NATO News YouTube channel
“We need to be clear-eyed about China’s ambitions. China is substantially building up its forces, including its nuclear weapons, with no transparency and no limitations,” he said.
“From 200 warheads in 2020, China is expected to have more than 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030. Its space launch investments are skyrocketing,” he added.
“China is bullying Taiwan and pursuing access to our critical infrastructures in ways that would cripple our societies,” he said.
“Russia, China, but also North Korea and Iran, are hard at work to try to weaken North America and Europe, to chip away at our freedom. They want to reshape the global order,” Rutte said.
China is heavily investing in ammunition, accelerating space capabilities and expanding its nuclear arsenal, Rutte said, adding that it is dangerous that “Russia and China are racing ahead” while NATO allies are “lagging behind.”
During a question-and-answer session, Rutte said that the result of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia would shape China’s next step regarding Taiwan.
Ukraine must have “positional strength” in peace negotiations with Russia, otherwise, Russian President Vladimir Putin could “come out on top” and secure a deal that is awful for Ukraine, Rutte said, adding that the Russian example could encourage China to take advantage of Taiwan.
Chinese President “Xi Jinping [習近平] will be watching it, and will think: ‘Hey, what does it mean for me in terms of starting to nibble Taiwan to do other stuff in my part of the world.’ So it is crucial that whenever there is a deal, that is a good deal with all the elements in there,” he said.
In Taipei, MOFA in a press release yesterday said that Rutte’s speech is the first public speech he has made since he took office as NATO secretary-general on Oct. 1.
Rutte clearly pointed out the nature of China’s expansion and actions and its aggressive ambition toward Taiwan, the ministry said, adding that he also called for the international society to seriously face the issue of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran challenging global peace, security and order.
“At a time when authoritarian states are continuously expanding their aggressive ambitions, NATO Secretary-General Rutte’s remark has significant meaning,” the ministry said.
Facing authoritarian states strengthening their collaboration and undermining regional peace, stability and international order, Taiwan, a responsible democratic member of the international society, will continue to work with G7 countries, NATO and like-minded partners, in safeguarding peace, stability and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, the ministry said.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats