A senior Taiwanese diplomat claims that Beijing is preparing for a future attack, and insists, ‘We will not surrender our freedom.’
A senior Taiwanese diplomat claims that Beijing is preparing for a future attack, and insists, ‘We will not surrender our freedom.’
A mbassador James Lee, a senior Taiwanese diplomat posted to the United States, has warned that China is attempting to soften the ground for a “possible invasion” through diplomacy at the U.N., and insisted that, “We will not surrender our freedom.”
In response to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taipei, the Chinese military recently ramped up its military activity in the waters around Taiwan, which in theory brought Beijing one step closer to an invasion. China lobbed missiles into waters surrounding the island and swarmed fighter jets and naval vessels to the area. Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, meanwhile, said that this heightened military presence was part of China’s “playbook for the invasion of Taiwan” during a press conference in Taipei this week.
In an interview with National Review at his Manhattan office this week, Lee, Taipei’s top official in New York, reiterated Wu’s warnings, calling China’s military drills dangerous, irresponsible, and unjustified.
“China is attempting to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and to intimidate the people of Taiwan to accept the path set by Beijing, and they try to use this military drill to prepare a possible invasion of Taiwan in the future,” said Lee, who leads Taiwan’s engagement with the U.N. “But . . . I think that China’s coercive measure will only strengthen our will to safeguard our democratic life.”
The latest flareup began as Pelosi prepared for her August 2 visit to Taiwan. Chinese Communist Party officials complained vociferously in the lead-up to Pelosi’s visit, and kicked off new military drills just as she was leaving the island. Those drills, which were supposed to conclude this past Sunday, have now been extended indefinitely by Beijing, and some defense experts worry that the continued presence of the Chinese military in the vicinity of the island could make it difficult for Taiwan and its partners to anticipate an invasion.
While some Taiwanese officials, such as Chen Ming-tong, the director-general of the country’s national-security bureau, have previously offered predictions as to the timing of a potential invasion, Wu did not do so this week. In his interview, Lee similarly demurred, saying that it is an “open secret” that China has “always” been preparing to invade.
The most obvious signs of those preparations can be seen in the Taiwan Strait, but Lee emphasized that Chinese officials are also attempting to pave the way for an attack through diplomatic means: “They are not only doing the military drills to try to change the status quo. They’re also doing that here in New York, in the U.N. arena.”
Beijing has long strived to influence the U.N.’s interpretation of General Assembly Resolution 2758, passed in 1971, which transferred the seat called “China” from Taiwan to the communist mainland government. Since then, Taiwan has remained on the outside of the U.N. looking in, while the organization has taken China’s side in the conflict, in recent years even prohibiting Taiwanese nationals from setting foot on U.N. property.
“China is obviously setting the table at the U.N. arena to justify its military operation against Taiwan, and that is dangerous,” Lee said, adding that Beijing continues to falsely claim that the 1971 resolution endorses its assertion of sovereignty over Taiwan.
As the latest crisis unfurled in the Taiwan Strait, U.N. secretary general Antonio Guterres commented twice on the situation. During an August 3 press conference in New York, he explained his position: “We abide by General Assembly resolutions, by the One China policy, and that is the orientation that we have in everything we do.” Later, in Japan, he called for restraint. He did not elaborate on what the U.N.’s “One China policy” actually means, but the fact that the U.N. has historically endorsed China’s interpretation of the 1971 resolution — including in a 2010 legal memo — and even cited China’s talking points, suggests that it may again take Beijing’s side here.
Either way, Lee said, Guterres needs to clarify his office’s stance on this — and the U.S. and its allies should demand that he do so together with them, via a formal request called a “joint démarche.”
Lee noted that before the latest round of exercises, the Chinese authorities claimed that the Taiwan Strait is part of China’s territorial waters. “Why do they claim that?” he asked. “Because they think that U.N. resolution 2758 already says that Taiwan is part of the PRC. But that is not true.”
Lee also told NR that “CCP leaders respect only power,” which means that “peace can only be secured through strength.” He called on the U.S. and its allies to surge asymmetric capabilities to Taiwan, help further train its forces and harden its cyber defenses, and develop contingency plans for a Chinese invasion.
Their motivations to do so need not be altruistic, he added. “Chinese aggression against Taiwan would dislocate the entire region. So we should not view Taiwan as the CCP’s ultimate goal, but rather as the first domino in its quest for regional and global dominance.”