British minister's 'apply Ukraine lessons to Taiwan' remarks rile China

LONDON • The West must learn from its mistakes in failing to deter Russia's invasion of Ukraine and apply those lessons to "protect peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait", British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said yesterday.

Tensions between Taiwan and China, which regards the island as its own territory, have risen in recent years as Beijing steps up military activities near Taiwan to pressure it to accept Chinese rule.

Ms Truss said the West, and in particular countries in the Indo-Pacific region, had to make sure Taiwan was defended. "We need to learn the lessons of Ukraine, which was that we could have ensured that Ukraine had the defensive capability earlier," Ms Truss told LBC radio. "And that would have done more to deter (Russian President Vladimir) Putin from invading, so-called deterrence by denial."

In Beijing, the foreign ministry said China had lodged an official complaint with Britain over Ms Truss' remarks. "The lack of common sense and the arrogance of her remarks are surprising," ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular briefing yesterday.

At a Nato meeting in Spain on Wednesday, Ms Truss told a panel session that China was "extending its influence through economic coercion and building a capable military". She added: "There is a real risk that they draw the wrong idea, which results in a catastrophic miscalculation such as invading Taiwan."

Asked to comment on Ms Truss' Wednesday remarks about Taiwan, Mr Zhao reiterated Beijing's position that Taiwan is part of China and its internal affairs, and said no external force had a right to interfere.

Yesterday, Ms Truss also said Britain should continue to build trade ties with China but not become strategically dependent on it.

Mr Zhao responded yesterday that using ideology and small circles to artificially separate the world's supply chains would not succeed.

REUTERS