Taiwan Warns: China a ‘Real Threat’ After Munich Security Forum

Taiwan’s foreign minister on Sunday accused China of hypocrisy, asserting that Beijing is the real threat to security while claiming to uphold UN principles of peace. The rebuke came in response to comments made by China’s top diplomat at the Munich Security Conference.

Taiwan Rejects China’s Sovereignty Claims

China views Taiwan as its own territory, a position the government in Taipei rejects, maintaining that only the Taiwanese people can determine their future.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, warned against attempts to separate Taiwan from China, criticized Japan for tensions surrounding the island, and emphasized the importance of adhering to the United Nations Charter.

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung stated that Taiwan’s sovereignty has never belonged to the People’s Republic of China, citing historical facts, current realities, and international law.

Lin accused Wang of “boasting” about upholding the UN Charter while simultaneously blaming other nations for regional instability. He further stated that China has recently engaged in military provocations near Taiwan and violated UN Charter principles regarding the use or threat of force, demonstrating a “hegemonic mindset.”

China’s military conducts regular exercises around Taiwan, with its latest large-scale war games taking place near the island in December.

Senior Taiwanese officials, including Lin, were not invited to participate in the Munich conference.

China asserts that Taiwan was returned to Chinese rule by Japan at the end of World War Two in 1945, and that challenging this is a challenge to the postwar international order and Chinese sovereignty.

The Taiwanese government contends that the island was transferred to the Republic of China, which existed at the time, and not the People’s Republic of China, which was established later. Therefore, Beijing has no legitimate claim to sovereignty.

Following a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists in 1949, the republican government relocated to Taiwan. The Republic of China remains the island’s official name.