TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Likeminded nations should join together in countering China’s expansionism and help Taiwan build a greater international presence, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) urged.

In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, Wu called for an alliance between the U.S., Japan, Australia, and Europe against Chinese ambitions in the Pacific region. “If Taiwan were to fall prey to China,” he said, Beijing’s increased clout could impact the global order.

Wu emphasized the significance of protecting Taiwan, which has a strategically important role as part of the first island chain. While the country is not seeking direct military support, he reckoned it is willing to share intelligence and work with allies on the cooperation of hybrid warfare and security.

The foreign minister also asked the international community to back Taiwan’s joining global organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), made more relevant amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Acknowledging that resisting China could come with a price, such as Beijing’s retaliatory sanctions, he believes coalitions are the answer and that “Fighting alone is not the way to deal with it,” The Guardian quoted him as saying.

Beijing has ratcheted up the military threat to Taiwan over the past months, with almost daily incursions into the country’s air defense identification zone, which analysts say is a tactic to wear out its fleet as part of an attrition campaign.

Obliged to help Taiwan defend itself, the U.S. has approved a number of arms sales to the country. The latest one involves communications systems worth US$280 million announced Monday (Dec. 7), the sixth deal this year and the 11th under the Trump administration.