Taiwan’s policy of not provoking war working, says foreign minister

By Satuk Bugra Kutlugun

Taipei, TAIWAN (AA) - The security of Taiwan is a matter of concern for the international community and the island nation’s policies are "working" to deter any war, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Wednesday.

“Security of Taiwan is a matter which the international community has been considering,” Wu told a delegation of international journalists in Taipei.

He said Taiwan was adopting "responsible" policies that do not provoke a war with China and the “policy seems to be working.”

China considers Taiwan as its “breakaway province” while Taipei has been insisting on its independence since 1949.

“Taiwan has been under coercion from a big neighbor,” Wu said, referring to China.

Fearing that China “might use force against Taiwan,” Wu, however, said: “There is a growing consensus… in the US, also in Taiwan … that war is not inevitable and war is not imminent.”

“(But) we need to deter China from using force against Taiwan (as) any kind of war is going to be disastrous, (not just for Taiwan but) for many countries,” he said.

He said Western nations “consider the Taiwan government a very responsible player” on cross-Taiwan Strait issues.

“The second matter is Taiwan should have sufficient deterrence capabilities,” he said, adding the island nation was not only increasing its military budget but also undertaking military reforms.

In her last budget as president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen’s government sought to hike defense spending by 3.5% to a record 606.8 billion new Taiwan dollars ($19 billion) in 2024.

Taiwan will hold presidential elections in January.

“Taiwan is a small country… (but) it would not be that easy for other country to take over Taiwan… that is strategy,” he said.

To boost the island nation’s capacity “to deter China,” Wu said: “Taiwan is also in serious exchanges with a key partner of ours, the US, for our military to be better trained.”

“All these are leading up the capability of Taiwan to deter the other side from using force against Taiwan,” he added.