Ex-NATO Secretary-General urges arms dispatch to Taiwan for deterrence

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NATO weapons must be delivered to Taiwan "now" according to former NATO Secretary-General Fogh Rasmussen, to assist the island in its alleged deterrence strategy against China.

On Thursday, Rasmussen explained that Beijing needed to know the potential economic limitations it would face as a consequence if it allegedly attacked Taiwan.

In the Financial Times, Rasmussen wrote "European politicians must stop sending mixed signals. China relies on exports to global markets to fuel its growth. It is far more entwined in global supply chains than Russia, so spelling out the economic consequences of an attack in advance can act as a powerful deterrent."
 
Additionally, the ex-NATO SG argued that for this approach to be effective, NATO "should give Taiwan the weapons it needs to defend itself now." Rasmussen stated that NATO's support for Taiwan must reach a point where Chinese President Xi Jinping must "calculate that the cost of an invasion is simply too high."

In order to challenge Beijing, Rasmussen urged consideration of the potential for escalation involving Taiwan and the lessons learned from the war in Ukraine.

Lastly, the ex-NATO chief noted that if the war in Ukraine is lost for NATO and the collective West, it would set a "dangerous precedent" and encourage Beijing to allegedly "gain territory and establish a new status quo by force."

As such the most efficient way to deter China is "to ensure a Ukrainian victory."

Chinese Army conducts military drills 'around Taiwan'

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) held on Sunday military exercises in waters and airspace near Taiwan, in what the Island considers to be its "territorial waters," to test the combat effectiveness of Chinese troops, Shi Yi, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said.  

"On January 8, the PLA Eastern Theater Command organized joint combat patrols of various types and branches of troops and practical military exercises in the sea and airspace around the island of Taiwan," the spokesperson said in a statement posted on WeChat.

The drills were aimed to assess the troops' joint combat capabilities and resolutely counter the provocative actions of external and separatist forces supporting Taiwan's independence, the statement read.

China: Taiwan is 'not Ukraine'

China's Foreign Ministry, earlier in February 2022, said that Taiwan is "not Ukraine" and has always been an inalienable part of China.

Hua Chunying, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing, denied any connection between the Ukraine and Taiwan issues.

She said that "Taiwan is not Ukraine," saying that "Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact."

The Taiwan issue is a relic of the civil war, but China's [territorial] integrity should never have been, and has never been, jeopardized, Hua added.

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