Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) says that “the best way to preserve peace is to be able to fight a war”. Wu made the comment during an interview with TIME Magazine, which released the interview on Wednesday. The comment came in response to a question about how Taiwan weighs the tradeoff between increasing Taiwan’s defense capabilities and the Chinese economic retaliation that inevitably follows.
Wu says that Taiwan’s economy has remained resilient in the face of Chinese coercion, in part due to the increasing economic cooperation between like-minded countries. Some of these countries have themselves suffered from Chinese economic coercion. Wu used the example of Australian red wine, saying that the Foreign Ministry has not stopped serving it since the first day that China applied heavy tariffs to its importation. The tariffs were in retaliation for an Australian government investigation into the origins of COVID-19 in 2020.
In addition, Wu emphasized the importance of the recently signed trade deal with the United States, known as the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade. The deal is the first of its kind between the two sides since the severing of official diplomatic relations in 1979, and the most comprehensive among countries without diplomatic relations. Wu says he hopes that the deal will serve as an example to other countries that want to enhance trade relations with Taiwan.
Wu says that the war in Ukraine has taught Taiwan several lessons. The first is the importance of national determination in resisting aggression. Second is how to implement asymmetric warfare on the battlefield. Third is the value of international support, which Taiwan continues to seek throughout the world.
Wu says that given China’s numerous recent internal problems, Taiwan does not see an invasion of Taiwan as likely in the near future, echoing recent comments made by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).