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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – February 18, 2023) Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday called for the further development of the Pacific Defense Alliance in order to counter China and support Taiwan, as well as ensure peace in the region.
“We need to make sure that Taiwan is able to defend itself. And we need to work together across the free world. I want to see a greater Pacific defense alliance, along with closer cooperation between NATO and our allies in the Pacific.” said Truss. .at the session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on China in Tokyo.
The former British Prime Minister expressed confidence that the establishment of such defense and economic ties “will help to protect Taiwan and protect freedom”, while deep economic integration between the island and other countries will prevent the escalation of tensions in the region.
“The Group of 7 accounts for more than 40% of the world’s nominal GDP – and if you add the European Union, it’s more than half. Now that’s an incredibly powerful position. Economic weight means we can influence other countries. This means that we can make decisions about how we do business, who we invest in, what technology we export, and we have to use this leverage to make sure that the G7 plus allies like NATO operate economically,” Truss said.
He also called on the international community to agree on a package of coordinated defense, economic and political measures to support Taiwan.
The situation around Taiwan escalated after the visit of then US Congress Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island in early August. Beijing condemned Pelosi’s visit, which it described as a move to support separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises near the island. Despite this, a number of countries, including France, the United States, Japan and other countries, sent their delegations to the island after that, which led to an even greater increase in the tension in the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing considers the island a province, while Taiwan, a territory with its own elected government, recognizes it as an autonomous country but refuses to declare independence. Beijing opposes any official contact of foreign countries with Taipei and considers China’s sovereignty over the island indisputable.
