“Taiwan is Chinese, period“, said Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe during a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore in mid-June. Beijing believes that Taiwan, an island with a population of 24 million, is an integral part of its historical provinces even if the island territory has its own government, currency and army. But Taiwan never formally proclaimed its independence.
Beijing says it wants to take back the island of Taiwan by force if necessary and opposes any official contact between Taiwan and other countries.
“Let’s be clear, if anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, we will not hesitate to fight, we will fight until the end.”
Wei Fenghe, Chinese Minister of DefenseSpeech at the Security Forum in Singapore
A firm position, without concession, addressed to the United States. US President Joe Biden, during a visit to Japan last May, answered in the affirmative to the question of whether Washington could ensure the military defense of Taiwan in the event of an attack from Beijing. “The idea that Taiwan could be taken by force is not an option and it would be comparable to what is currently happening in Ukraine“, had also declared the president of the United States. A “blunder” for some, tempered a few hours later by the White House.
However, Ukraine and Taiwan have things in common. Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Xi Jinping’s China have comparable ambitions with skyrocketing military spending. Ukraine, like Taiwan, are seen by Moscow and Beijing as peripheral territories, considered as separatist entities.
In addition, Vladimir Putin like Xi Jinping are developing an imperialist policy baptized “Novorossia” for one, this “New Russia” which goes from the Sea of Azov to Moldavia and “United China” for the Chinese President. He has given himself a deadline of 2049 to celebrate with Taiwan the centenary of the centenary of the People’s Republic of China.
Beijing is therefore in no hurry and is observing the Ukrainian terrain very closely, according to China specialist Antoine Blondin: “Ukraine is now a laboratory for China to prepare better. She learned a lot. She learned in particular that the West is determined to support Ukraine, even though there were no specific security guarantees. However, unlike Ukraine, Taiwan has benefited since the passing of a law in 1979 from the military protection of the United States.