Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Thursday that a halt to U.S. arms shipments to Ukraine would embolden China’s aggression against Taiwan and fuel propaganda from Beijing that the United States is an unreliable partner.
“When people ask us if it’s OK for the United States to abandon Ukraine, the answer is no, because the world doesn’t operate in a black and white way, or if you only look at one theater at a time.” he said. “The world is connected.”
If Russia can occupy more of Ukraine and claim victory, he added, “it would be seen as a victory for authoritarian states because Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are now linked.”
Mr. Wu’s comments, made in a wide-ranging hour-long interview in Taipei, come as the Biden administration tries to push Congress to pass a supplemental financing package that would provide $60 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Many Republicans in the House of Representatives are strongly opposed to giving more aid to Ukraine, adopting the “America First” stance espoused by former President Donald J. Trump, a pro-Russian candidate who has put pressure on them set to reject the package. For months, they said they would be willing to consider providing more aid to Kiev if the Biden administration imposed tough immigration restrictions at the U.S. border with Mexico. But at Mr. Trump’s urging, they rejected a funding package that would have done that, calling the border measures too weak.
The package also includes $8 billion in aid to counter China in the Asia-Pacific region, of which $1.9 billion would replenish stockpiles of U.S. weapons sent to Taiwan. And it includes $14.1 billion in military aid to Israel.
Some Republican lawmakers argue that China is a bigger threat than Russia and that the proposed funding for Ukraine should be used to counter China. But other Republican officials in Congress and many Democrats are making the same argument as Mr. Wu: that Taiwan’s security is tied to Ukraine’s because China will see weakness on the part of the United States — and a greater chance of success in a potential crisis. invasion of Taiwan – if Ukraine is defeated.
Chinese leaders have said for decades that Taiwan, a de facto independent island, should be brought under Communist Party rule, by force if necessary. Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, has continued to promote that position.
The U.S. and Taiwanese governments have tried to deter China from the idea of invading Taiwan, including through military buildups in the region and strengthening alliances with other democratic countries.
If the United States abandons Ukraine, Mr. Wu said, China will “take it as a hint” that if it can continue its ongoing action against Taiwan, “the United States will withdraw, the United States and its allies are going to withdraw.” The thinking among Chinese officials would be this: “Okay, since Russia could do that, so can we.”
“So the US’s determination in providing support to countries suffering from authoritarian aggression is of great importance,” Mr Wu said.
After U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, China spread propaganda through traditional state media and social media that “the U.S. commitment to anything is not steadfast,” Mr. Wu said. “We have suffered a massive wave of cognitive warfare.”
China has also spread disinformation that emphasizes Russia’s narratives about the war, Mr. Wu said, including the idea that NATO expansion forced President Vladimir V. Putin to attack Ukraine, and that the United States is ultimately unwilling to attack Ukraine to support.
On the eve of the Russian invasion in February 2022, Mr Putin visited Mr Xi in Beijing, and their two governments announced a “no borders” partnership.
Mr Wu said some Central and Eastern European countries seeking to forge anti-authoritarian partnerships had strengthened their ties with Taiwan during the war.
His comments on the need for the United States to continue supporting Taiwan echo those of other senior Taiwanese officials. In May 2023, Bi-khim Hsiao, then Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States and now its new vice president, made similar arguments to reporters in Washington.
And in February, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat of Illinois, said during a visit by U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan that the current President, Tsai Ing-wen, and the newly elected President, Lai Ching-te, have made it clear to lawmakers that “if to For some reason the Ukrainians do not have the upper hand, which will only encourage hostilities against Taiwan.”