US support for Ukraine prevents Chinese attack on Taiwan | Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US support for Ukraine deters China from attacking Taiwan, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said Thursday (March 28).

If the US abandoned Ukraine, China would “take it as a hint” that it could continue coercion against Taiwan, Wu said in a New York Times interview. Chinese officials would think, “OK, since Russia could do that, we can do that as well,” he said.

US commitment to backing countries facing authoritarian aggression “is very important,” Wu said.

The foreign ministry emphasized that the world does not operate “in a black-and-white way,” adding, “The world is interconnected.” If Russia was able to claim victory over Ukraine, “it would be seen as a victory of authoritarian states because Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, they are now linked together,” he said.

Wu’s comments come as the Biden administration is struggling to get approval from Congress to provide US$60 billion (NT$1.91 trillion) of additional aid to Ukraine. In December, the US offered Ukraine a $250 million military assistance package.

Meanwhile, Biden signed the 2024 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act into law on March 24, which includes US$300 million in military aid to Taiwan under the US Foreign Military Financing program, more than US$26 million for Department of Defense cooperative programs, and at least US$4 million for projects under the Taiwan-US Global Cooperation and Training Framework, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.