Foreign Minister Joseph Wu says that Taiwan, Australia, and other like-minded countries should strengthen their alliances in the face of China's threat. Wu was speaking in an interview on the Australian news program The World.
Wu said that as foreign minister, his first priority is to improve relations with like-minded countries. At the same time, he said that he must avoid giving the impression that he is provoking China so that Beijing will not have an excuse for aggressive behavior. He also said that as Australia faces economic pressure from China, the best strategy is to strengthen alliances and face China together.
Wu said China's oppressive national security law in Hong Kong, its increased military presence in the South China Sea, and its crossings of the median line of the Taiwan Strait are a threat to regional security.
Wu said that Taiwan is determined to defend its sovereignty and way of life in the face of a more authoritarian China under Xi Jinping. Wu stressed that Taiwan is not a part of China and that it is an entity of its own. He said that Taiwan will strive to sustain its status quo and ability to elect its own president and legislature.
In regards to US-Taiwan ties, Wu said that the US Congress's passage of the Taiwan Travel Act, the TAIPEI Act and the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act show that Taiwan enjoys bipartisan support in the US. Wu said that the incoming Biden administration will continue to support Taiwan.