TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan government and its citizens fully understand it is their responsibility to defend the nation, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said in an interview with Deutsche Welle on Thursday (Sept. 1).
Taiwan does not doubt the U.S.' commitments, but “the defense of Taiwan is our own responsibility,” he said. “If we are not committed to our own defense, we don't have the right to ask others to sacrifice.”
Our government has increased its military budget and will continue to strengthen its self-defense capabilities, he added.
Wu said one of the root causes for the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war in February was that when Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, the international community failed to take immediate and unanimous action to counter it, per a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release.
Ukraine was invaded by Russian forces and the people bravely defended their country and democracy, the foreign minister said. This was “inspirational” to the Taiwanese, Wu said, “because we understand that the Chinese can also do the same thing to Taiwan.”
“We want to show to the international community that we are just about the same degree of bravery in fighting for our country and our democratic way of life."
Wu said that China's military exercises are taking place around the sea and airspace near Taiwan, ignoring the long-standing tacit understanding not to cross the median line of the Taiwan Strait. These actions by Beijing attempt to incorporate the Taiwan Strait into its territorial waters, undermining the security, peace, and stability of the Indo-Pacific region, he said.
Wu urged the global democratic community to stand up together to prevent the expansion of authoritarianism. He said that maintaining the status quo has always been Taiwan's policy and doing so is in the best interests of all parties.
“Taiwan and China have no jurisdiction over each other,” the foreign minister said, adding that only the Taiwanese have the right to decide the future of their nation.
Commenting on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, Wu said China used it as a “pretext” to launch large-scale military exercises. However, he said this “will not stop Taiwan from making more friends, and at the same time, it will not stop international friends to come to Taiwan and show their support to us.”
The foreign minister said Taiwan will definitely not be the last target of China's colonizing. Democracies should unite to stop it, he said.
