TAIPEI — China’s expansionist drive is sparking alarm across Asia and needs to be checked by U.S.-led alliances, Taiwan’s security chief has warned.
National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo Li-hsiung said he backed AUKUS, a security partnership between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., and pointed out that it was necessary for NATO to help Asia counter Chinese military threats.
“The security pact is an important power to respond to China’s expansionism and military buildup,” the cabinet heavyweight told Nikkei Asia in an exclusive interview. “It is wrong to put the blame on AUKUS for an arms race in the region. If Beijing didn’t impose such territorial claims, vastly increase its defense budget or threaten nearby countries, we wouldn’t have to worry.”
Malaysia and Indonesia have voiced reservations about the role of AUKUS, but Koo noted how the two countries pushed back against China’s new map that claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and vast swaths of the South China Sea, and disputed boundaries along the Sino-Indian border.
“Malaysia and Indonesia recently lodged protests against China’s new map. AUKUS is aimed at containing Beijing, the provocateur who started the arms race,” he said. “I wonder how Malaysia and Indonesia have felt about AUKUS since then.”
As a top security official of an Asian democratic power under constant Chinese threat, Koo’s warnings add weight to growing alarm in Japan, the Philippines and other countries about Beijing’s posture.
China has unleashed a series of punitive measures and threats to intimidate Taiwan ahead of its 2024 presidential election — doubling down on banning Taiwanese imports, threatening to walk back from a major trade pact and increasing military pressure against its neighbor.
But growing Chinese coercion has not frightened Taiwanese voters. Opinion polls give the candidate for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, Lai Ching-te, who is described by Beijing as a “troublemaker,” a two-digit lead over rivals in the presidential race. Communist China has never ruled the democratic island of 24 million people, but claims it as its territory and has not rejected a possible invasion. Beijing flexed its muscles by sending a record number of 103 fighter jets near Taiwan over the Sept. 23 weekend.
“Taiwan doesn’t take a position on whether NATO should set up a liaison office in Tokyo, but we support more NATO engagement in Asia: engagement in terms of sharing intelligence and good practices such as how to counter fake news,” Koo said.
“China keeps pontificating about the defense and foreign policies of other Asian countries — that’s typical behavior of an authoritarian power. It’s not for Beijing to lecture others on how they want to protect themselves,” he said.
A lawyer by training, Koo led the Financial Supervisory Commission before taking the helm at the NSC and is seen as among the most senior ministers in President Tsai Ing-wen’s government. In 1989, Koo teamed up with other lawyers and was elected to the Taipei Bar Association’s leadership, ending the domination of military judges as Taiwan was emerging from authoritarian rule.
Koo warned that the Chinese military is expanding aggressively overseas. He pointed to the Chinese naval port in East Africa’s Djibouti, the Ream naval base in Cambodia, Gwadar Port in Pakistan and Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, as well as a secretive security agreement inked by Beijing and the Solomon Islands.
“China’s naval power expansion is certainly worrying for countries across this region. If Beijing didn’t have an ambition to take over neighboring territories, it would not have been as serious a problem. The U.S. Navy has a presence across the world but doesn’t seek to acquire territories of other nations,” Koo said.
The U.S. is already strengthening partnerships with like-minded countries, he observed, such as upgrading its relations with Vietnam and providing defense support to the Philippines.
“Like-minded countries, including nations in Southeast Asia, should work together and avoid Belt and Road projects that carry risks of a ‘debt trap,'” the official said, referring to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s flagship global infrastructure initiative.
Source : NikkeiAsia
