Taiwan’s FM Wants Australia’s Help to Prepare for War With China

 

Taipei welcomes the new military pact between Australia, the US, and the UK

by Dave DeCamp 

Posted onOctober 4, 2021CategoriesNewsTagsAustralia, China, Taiwan

Taiwan’s foreign minister told Australian media that Taipei wants to partner with Australia as it prepares for a potential war with China.

“We would like to engage in security or intelligence exchanges with other like-minded partners, Australia included, so Taiwan is better prepared to deal with the war situation,” Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told Australia’s ABC.

Wu said that Taiwan welcomed the recent military pact between the US, the UK, and Australia, known as AUKUS. “We are pleased to see that the like-minded partners of Taiwan — the United States and the UK and Australia — are working closer with each other to acquire more advanced defense articles so that we can defend Indo-Pacific,” he said.

Under AUKUS,  Australia will get access to technology to build nuclear-powered submarines. Wu said Taiwan does not seek nuclear-powered submarines because it has a different “war strategy.”

“We need to go asymmetric, and we need to have a different type of philosophy in defeating China if there’s going to be a war — so nuclear-powered submarines is not something that we are seeking,” he said.

After a recent meeting between US and Australian officials, a joint statement was released that said both sides “stated their intent to strengthen ties with Taiwan, which is a leading democracy and a critical partner for both countries.”

Wu said Australia has also shown support for Taiwan by backing its bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, known as CPTPP. “As far as I know, Australia has been one of those most vocal members in supporting Taiwan’s participation in CPTPP,” he said.

https://news.antiwar.com/2021/10/04/taiwans-fm-wants-australias-help-to-prepare-for-war-with-china/