China Escalates Military Pressure Against Taiwan After Unprecedented G7 Support for Taiwan
A communique issued on June 13 after a summit of G7 leaders highlighted the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, among a range of other pressing global issues. China, however, responded by sending 28 Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on June 15, the largest daily incursion on record.
In the G7 communique, the world’s seven wealthiest democracies expressed their unprecedented support for Taiwan. “We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues,” it said, adding that “We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions.”
Also in the communique, the G7 countries pledged to promote their values by means such as “calling on China to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially in relation to Xinjiang and those rights, freedoms and high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.”
Taiwan’s government welcomed the latest G7 communique, stating that Taiwan will continue to be a “force for good” and that the common values of democracy, freedom, and human rights set a foundation for partnership between Taiwan and the G7 countries.
China responded by criticizing the G7 group’s “interference” in what it claims as “Chinese internal affairs” and by sending an unprecedentedly large fleet of 28 Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s ADIZ. In addition, this latest sortie was reported to fly very close to the southern tip of Taiwan, indicating the escalation of Chinese military pressure against Taiwan.
As China continues to intensify its military aggressiveness toward Taiwan, FAPA urges the Congress to pass the “Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act” to increase the “Strategic Clarity” in the U.S. policy on defending democratic Taiwan and to more effectively deter Chinese unilateral attempts to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
References:
[1] Focus Taiwan: https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202106130014
[2] Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-says-will-be-force-good-after-unprecedented-g7-support-2021-06-14/
[3] Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-reports-largest-incursion-yet-by-chinese-air-force-2021-06-15/
Canadian Version of the “Taiwan Relations Act” Introduced
On June 17, a Canadian member of parliament, Michael Cooper, introduced the “Canada-Taiwan Relations Framework Act” to provide a framework for strengthening economic, cultural, and legal relations between Canada and Taiwan and to direct the Canadian government to support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
“It is time that Canada adopted an approach to Taiwan that better reflects the current reality,” wrote Cooper in a press release. “This legislation clarifies Canada’s relationship with Taiwan with the objective of strengthening Canada-Taiwan relations.”
Some important contents of the “Canada-Taiwan Relations Framework Act” include: “permit the office of the representative of the Government of Taiwan in Canada to be referred to as the Taiwan Representative Office”; “A general reference in a law of Canada to foreign states or to their governments, including any institutions or agencies of those governments, is deemed to include Taiwan”; and “support the participation of Taiwan in multilateral international organizations . . . so that Taiwan may play a role that is commensurate with its position in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The Act states that it is the policy of the Government of Canada, among other things, to: “conduct its foreign relations on the basis that peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region are in the political, security and economic interests of Canada, and are matters of international concern”; and “consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, or by boycotts or embargoes, to be a threat to the peace and security of the Indo-Pacific region and of grave concern to Canada.”
FAPA urges the U.S. Congress to pass the “Taiwan Diplomatic Review Act,” which, in part, asks to rename Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the United States from “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office” (TECRO) to “Taiwan Representative Office” (TRO). The U.S. should take the lead in renaming Taiwan’s de facto embassy to “Taiwan Representative Office” to lend more dignity and respect to the 23 million people of Taiwan.
References:
[1] The Post Millennial: https://thepostmillennial.com/conservatives-move-to-build-relationship-with-taiwan-as-chinese-sphere-of-influence-grows/
[2] Liberty Times (Mandarin): https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3573706
