Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has risked escalating Western tensions with China by calling on allies to provide greater support for Taiwan so it can defend itself against any aggression from Beijing.
Speaking ahead of the final day of the Nato leaders summit in Madrid on Thursday, Ms Truss warned of the threat China posed to the security of the West.
On Wednesday the Nato summit, which has been attended by Indo Pacific partners including Australia, Japan and South Korea, agreed to toughen its language on China, recognising the challenge Beijing poses to the West’s security and institutions.
But Ms Truss went even further on Thursday, saying allies needed to “learn the lessons” from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and provide greater support for Taiwan now.
She told Times Radio: “We are more focused on being a global Nato because we don’t just face the immediate threat from Russia there is also longer term concerns about the impact of China particularly on economic coercion and they are building up their military capabilities.
“We need to learn the lessons from Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t in a good enough position to defend itself, that made it a target for Russia. And that is what we as a free world need to do is make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself that we continue to maintain peace in the Taiwan strait.”
Tensions have been growing between the US and China over the island state in recent months with Washington fearing that Beijing could be preparing to launch an invasion to reclaim a territory it views as a breakaway province.
Ms Truss added: “The lesson is we need to make sure sovereign nations are in a position to defend themselves. There are different ways of doing that...but ultimately it is making sure those countries have the capabilities they need.”
