[The Epoch Times, June 12, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Xia Yu comprehensive report) “Washington Post” columnist Josh Rogin (Josh Rogin) wrote that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday (June 12) 11) called on Asian countries to support Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression, but he also said that the international community should help Taiwan resist Chinese aggression now, and it needs to do so before Beijing invades.
Speaking via video at the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue Security Summit in Singapore on Saturday, Zelensky answered a question from Rokin about how to respond to China’s economic and military coercion against Taiwan.
“I think the example of Ukraine today is the example of the whole world. The world must always give its support and take any pre-emptive action to avoid war,” Zelensky replied.
“No one benefits from (war) except some political leaders whose ambitions cannot be met by the status quo. So their appetite and ambitions are growing,” Zelensky said, without naming Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“The world feeds the appetite of (such) leaders, so we need a diplomatic resolution to support countries in need,” he said.
The example of the Ukraine war shows that when violence occurs, the costs are staggering. Every effort must therefore be made to find a diplomatic solution, if possible, to avoid an outright conflict, Zelensky said. But at the same time, he said, the international community must intervene before tensions spill over into violence (war) to ensure that a smaller country can fend off an aggressor.
“We can’t let them be at the mercy of another country that is more powerful financially, territorially and in weapons,” Zelensky said. “So if there is a diplomatic way out, we need to use it. But it has to be a pre-emptive one. the way it was, not the way it was after the war began.”
“Don’t start (the settlement) after the war has started, because there are thousands of victims (of the war). This war is not good for anyone except the ambitions of some people.” Zelensky emphasized.
The Chinese delegation left the hall during Zelensky’s speech, according to Olivia Enos, a senior political analyst at the Center for Asian Studies.
Rogin wrote that Zelensky’s remarks represent the strongest defense to date of Taiwan and its right to exist by him or a member of the Ukrainian government. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian government has been careful not to clash with Beijing.
On Sunday, local time, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe delivered a keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue. When talking about the Taiwan issue, Wei said Beijing’s position on the Taiwan issue has not changed, and Beijing regards Taiwan as a province. He said the Chinese government seeks “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan but retains “other options.”
“China will definitely achieve reunification,” Wei said.
He also said, “If someone dares to split Taiwan out, we will do whatever it takes to fight.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Wei Fenghe on Friday, in a meeting in which the two sides fought tit-for-tat over the Taiwan issue. In the article, Rokin wrote that, according to a U.S. official, Austin confronted Wei over China’s growing threat of intimidation against Taiwan and undermining the long-standing but fragile status quo, and refuted China’s assertion that the Taiwan Strait is owned by Beijing. owned arguments.
“We have witnessed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan, including a record number of Chinese military aircraft flying near Taiwan in recent months — almost every day,” Austin told the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday. “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is not just an American interest. It is an issue of international concern,” said in his keynote speech.
Although the CCP firmly denies that the situation in Ukraine and Taiwan is linked, several Asian leaders at the Shangri-La Dialogue said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a warning to the Taiwan Strait, as China could attack Taiwan.
“The Ukraine of today may be the East Asia of tomorrow,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a speech at the meeting on Friday night.
Responsible editor: Liu Ying#