According to Taiwanese Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu, China's threat to Taiwan is significantly greater than what is apparent, and any attempt by Beijing to forcefully alter the status quo will have severe global consequences, including an impact on semiconductor supply.
Wu stated in an interview with a group of international media outlets that the people of Taiwan are firmly committed to safeguarding Taiwan's sovereignty and that the "incredible determination" displayed by Ukrainians in the face of Russian aggression has strengthened their resolve.
China has insisted that Taiwan is a separatist province that must be reunited with the mainland—even if it means using force—to do so. China has been stationing warships close to Taiwan and regularly sending fighter jets into the air defense zone.
The time has come, according to the Taiwanese foreign minister, for all democratic nations to confront China's expansionist agenda and its military flexing, particularly in the maritime domain.
"I am not sure whether the Chinese have been seeing the Ukrainian war the way other countries are seeing it. Russia, with one of the largest militaries in the world, is having difficulties in its invasion of Ukraine," Wu said.
"Many people anticipated that the war would end in a week or two. But it dragged on for more than one year already and that is a good lesson for China," he said.
Wu asserted that the leadership of China needs to be aware of the "difficulties of launching a war" against Taiwan and the fact that China does not guarantee victory.
"If they understand, they should refrain from using military threats against Taiwan. One thing we keep reminding the world that any war, especially in this part of the world, might impact upon the rest of the world," he said.
The Taiwanese foreign minister warned that China's military actions against Taiwan will have a significant impact on the global supply chain, particularly for semiconductors.
The semiconductors made in Taiwan are crucial to India and many other nations. Wu said Taiwan supplies 90% of the high level chips expected across the globe.
"Any war that China wants to use against Taiwan is going to have a serious global impact because of that. We are glad to see that major international leaders are cautioning China not to change the status quo, especially by force," he said.
"We saw the incredible determination of the Ukrainians in fighting for their sovereignty. I think the people in Taiwan are inspired by the Ukrainians. We are more determined now in fighting for our freedom and sovereignty," he said.
"We also saw the international support for Ukraine and that is something I would describe as critical for Ukrainians to fight for their freedom and sovereignty," he added.
The war in Ukraine, according to the Taiwanese foreign minister, has brought to light the significance of asymmetric warfare.
"The Ukrainians have been very brave in fighting against one the largest militaries in the world. There has been a strategy of asymmetric warfare and that is the kind of lesson we have to learn from the war," he said.
"We are also engaging in military reform in a very serious way. For instance, we are trying to get our military to adapt to the asymmetric type of warfare as well. We are trying to acquire weapons for asymmetric warfare," he said.
Unusual forms of warfare are referred to as asymmetric warfare. Wu stated that major international leaders are advising China not to alter the status quo, particularly through force in the Taiwan Strait, which is good news for Taiwan.
Taiwan and China are separated by the Taiwan Strait. In recognition of its close ties to Taipei, the United States regularly dispatches warships to the region. Wu described the Russian aggression against Ukraine as "unprovoked" during the conversation.
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(With PTI inputs)
