An escalated war of words between Washington and Beijing is causing tension between the two countries over China’s plan to capture Taiwan.
China might seize Taiwan on a “much faster timeline” than previously thought according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Blinken on Wednesday accused China of undermining a decades-old “status quo” that has kept Washington and Beijing from going to war over Taiwan, saying China was trying to “speed up” its seizure of the nation.
“What’s changed is this — a decision by the government in Beijing that that status quo was no longer acceptable, that they wanted to speed up the process by which they would pursue reunification,” Blinken said in an interview at Bloomberg’s offices in Washington.
“They also, I think, made decisions about how they would do that, including exerting more pressure on Taiwan, coercion — making life difficult in a variety of ways on Taiwan in the hopes that that would speed reunification,” he said.
Blinken said the US and China were now clearly engaged in a global competition to shape international affairs, with Beijing pushing back against the US to champion an “illiberal” world order.
“We don’t look for conflict. We don’t want a cold war. We’re not trying to contain or restrain China,” Blinken said.
“But equally, we’re resolute in standing up for our interests, standing up for our values. And again, when it comes to Taiwan, standing up for the proposition that’s held for decades, that these differences need to be managed and resolved peacefully.”
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokeswoman Joanne Ou slammed China for conducting military drills in Taiwan’s airspace and waters around the nation since August, saying that the drills raised cross-strait tensions without any provocation.
The US government has issued multiple joint statements with like-minded countries to show its concern for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, she said, adding that Taiwan is to continue strengthening its self-defense capabilities, the security partnership with the US, and cooperation with Japan and other like-minded partners to defend the country’s sovereignty, democratic way of life, peace and an international order based on shared values.
