Sat, Dec 16, 2023 page2

• China’s cognitive warfare intensifying, official says

  DETERRENCE: Taiwan must have the determination to stand together with the international community, National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo said

  • By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter
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  Taiwan is facing more frequent, sophisticated and concealed cognitive warfare a month ahead of the presidential election, National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.

  It is China, not Taiwan, that does not accept the “status quo” of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and is pushing cross-strait relations to the brink of war, Koo told a forum held by Taiwan Think Tank in Taipei.

  China “has made no secret” of its ambition to annex Taiwan, continuing to harass the nation with military and economic coercion, diplomatic isolation, cyberattacks and cognitive warfare, he said.

  

  National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo speaks at a forum in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: CNA

  Beijing has been carrying out such operations in a planned manner in an attempt to divide and isolate Taiwan, and weaken Taiwanese unity and the will to resist, he said.

  Freedom in Taiwan is facing serious threats as the nation’s presidential and legislative elections draw near, he said.

  Nonetheless, Taiwan’s seemingly fragile democratic system is resilient, bringing its economic power onto the global stage with the innovative efforts enabled by an open capitalist society, he said.

  Sharing common values with the world’s democratic camp, Taiwan is committed to maintaining the “status quo” in the face of uncertainty and potential geopolitical risks, he said.

  Taiwan has also considerably raised its visibility worldwide as a force for good, he said, adding: “We are not alone.”

  China’s ambitions to expand its influence challenge the international order and affect not only Taiwan, but also countries such as Japan, the Philippines and India, he said.

  Countries in the Americas, Asia and Europe have abandoned the “unrealistic illusion” that political reform would occur alongside market opening and economic development in China, he said.

  The US and its allies are well aware that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) “plays by no rules” and that the Chinese military buildup cannot be ignored, he said.

  To manage the risks, the US is trying to maintain high-level dialogue with China while working with allies to strengthen deterrence, he said.

  Research by a foreign think tank shows that if a cross-strait conflict breaks out, the initial stage of a blockade of Taiwan could cause global economic output to fall by up to US$2 trillion, he said, adding that the actual losses could be astronomical and difficult to estimate.

  As the second-largest economy in the world, China would suffer the largest losses from this global economic disaster, which is likely to lead to a collapse of an already-weak Chinese economy, he said.

  The Chinese threat Taiwan is facing is a global threat as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are crucial to global security, he said.

  The US is increasingly focusing its military in the Indo-Pacific region, while Japan has boosted its national defense budget and troops on the Nansei Islands, and the Philippines has expanded its defense cooperation with the US, he said.

  Taiwan must have the determination to stand together with the international community and jointly build a credible and effective deterrent, he said.
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