TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Amid a flurry of media reports on China’s military drills around Taiwan, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged “anyone in positions like mine” to refrain from engaging in speculation over potential scenarios for Taiwan, calling it “the most dangerous of parlour games.”
“Just last week, we saw China practice strikes and blockades around Taiwan,” Wong said, and this, along with the risk of miscalculation, is one of several factors threatening regional peace. “This is why I am so steadfast in refusing to engage in speculation about regional flashpoints, whether the Himalayas, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, or anywhere else,” Wong said.
"There is much frenzied discussion in political and media circles over timelines and scenarios when it comes to Taiwan,” and “anyone in positions like mine who feels an urge to add to that discussion should resist the temptation," Wong said.
Wong said a war over Taiwan would clearly be “catastrophic for all," and that “the status quo is the best way forward to maintain peace.”
“China is going to keep being China,” Wong said, but she reiterated Australia's call for the "peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues through dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion."
Appealing to the media directly, Wong said, "To avoid any possible misunderstanding: our job is to lower the heat on any potential conflict, while increasing pressure on others to do the same."
“That may not sell as many newspapers today, but it will help you to sell them for a lot longer,” she added.
Wong made the comments on Monday (April 17) in a discussion about threats to Australian interests, including the war in Ukraine and mounting tensions in the South China Sea.
In addition to China's military drills around Taiwan, Wong’s comments follow a series of articles published in the Sydney Morning Herald arguing the country needed to prepare for war with China over Taiwan within three years, which one of the country’s former prime ministers called “egregious and provocative.” Wong’s comments also follow Australia’s decision to spend AU$368 billion (US$244 billion) over 30 years on nuclear submarines, as part of the trilateral AUKUS agreement.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles has said Australia has no obligation to defend Taiwan in return for the nuclear submarines.
General Angus Campbell, Australia's top military official, echoed Wong’s comments in an earlier address on April 11, saying, “When you unleash the dogs of war, you can’t necessarily be confident to contain the outcome, and as I say, a stable, secure free and open Indo-Pacific for all nations is in Australia’s interest."
