Taiwan is “not Ukraine” and has always been an inalienable part of China, China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday (23 February), as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called for the island to beef up vigilance on military activities in response to the crisis.
The comments come after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson flagged the risk for Taiwan in a warning last week about the damaging worldwide consequences if Western nations failed to fulfil their promises to support Ukraine’s independence.
China so far has avoided indicating a clear stance on the escalating crisis in Ukraine, reflecting its need to strike a delicate balance between the West and Russia.
China hasn’t condemned Russia’s decision to recognize separatist regions in Ukraine and send in troops, but foreign minister Wang Yi said over the weekend that every country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity “should be respected and safeguarded”.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up military activity near the self-governing island over the past two years, though Taiwan has reported no recent unusual manoeuvres by Chinese forces as tension over Ukraine has spiked.
Speaking in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying dismissed any link between the issues of Ukraine and Taiwan.
“Taiwan is not Ukraine,” she said. “Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact.”
The issue of Taiwan is one left over from the civil war, but China’s integrity should never have been compromised and never has been compromised, Hua added.
All security and military units “must raise their surveillance and early warning of military developments around the Taiwan Strait,” Tsai told a meeting of the working group on the Ukraine crisis set up by her National Security Council.
Taiwan and Ukraine are fundamentally different in terms of geostrategy, geography and international supply chains, she added, in details of the meeting provided by her office.
“But in the face of foreign forces intending to manipulate the situation in Ukraine and affect the morale of Taiwanese society, all government units must strengthen the prevention of cognitive warfare launched by foreign forces and local collaborators,” it cited Tsai as saying.
The statement did not mention China by name, but the country is the most significant military threat that Taiwan faces.
Tsai has expressed “empathy” for Ukraine’s situation because of the military threat the island faces from China.
Taiwan has complained of repeated Chinese military activity near it over the past two years, mostly flights into the island’s air defence zone, part of a pattern of what Taipei views as pressure from Beijing to accept China’s sovereignty claims over the island.
Taiwan on Sunday reported the largest incursion since October by China’s air force in its air defence zone, with the island’s defence ministry saying Taiwanese fighters scrambled to warn away 39 aircraft in the latest uptick in tensions.
In comments to a meeting of Taiwan’s National Security Council, Tsai said the Ukraine situation needed close attention.
“Taiwan has faced military threats and intimidation from China for a long time. Therefore, we empathize with Ukraine’s situation, and we also support the efforts of all parties to maintain regional security,” her office cited her as saying at the meeting.
*first published in: www.euractiv.com
By: N. Peter Kramer
