TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China is using legal terminology to legitimize its claim over Taiwan, according to an Economist report on Sunday. 

Seventy countries back China’s authority over Taiwan and “all” efforts to achieve so-called unification. Many of these countries have joined Beijing’s Belt Road Initiative, and in exchange, they allowed China access to natural resources and key ports.

China scored a major win in September when 53 African nations signed a statement recognizing Taiwan as Chinese territory and supporting China’s unification efforts. In June, Malaysia agreed to a joint statement accepting Taiwan as “inalienable Chinese territory.”  

The growing number of countries backing China could “play a decisive role” in assessing the legitimacy of any act of aggression towards Taiwan, The Economist said. The US's demands at the UN to impose sanctions could be rendered ineffective.

Global reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine were a vital factor that led China to pursue this strategy. Taiwan identified the move as an additional part of Beijing’s misinformation campaign to undermine its sovereignty, and it urged democracies to work together to counter expanding Chinese authoritarianism.