Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu has warned Australia must pay more attention to China’s increasing presence in the Indo-Pacific, describing Beijing's new security pact with Solomon Islands as a threat to peace and stability in the region.
In an exclusive interview with SBS News, Mr Wu said his self-governed island was on the frontline of China’s expanding “authoritarianism”, but this threat was now edging closer to Australia.
“It is right at your doorstep and I’m sure any military presence by China in the Solomons Islands is going to be your great concern,” he said.
“The like-minded countries like the United States and Australia and Japan need to pay more attention to the Chinese military activities in the Pacific.”
The security pact signed between Solomon Islands and China has ignited a flashpoint over foreign policy and national security during Australia’s election campaign, prompting unease over the deal’s implications in Australia and the United States.
There is concern it marks the first step toward a Chinese military base in Solomon Islands, despite an assurance from the country’s Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, and China, ruling this prospect out.
For their part, Beijing said the security pact is aimed at promoting “social stability and long term peace in Solomon Islands”.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said this week: "China-Solomon Islands security cooperation is open, transparent and not targeted at any third party. It does not contradict Solomon Islands’ cooperation with other partners or existing regional mechanisms.
"It serves the common interests of Solomon Islands and the South Pacific region."
The proximity of Solomon Islands to both Australia and Taiwan.
“When we see authoritarianism continue to expand into the Pacific ... this is injecting a factor of instability into the area.
“And we are also seeing the trend of authoritarianism, trying to inject this ideology and its mechanism of control into the Pacific countries, most specifically, those countries that sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
China's ambassador to the Solomon Islands Li Ming (right), and Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare cutting a ribbon during the opening ceremony of a China-funded national stadium complex in Honiara on 22 April. Source: Getty / MAVIS PODOKOLO/AFP via Getty Images
“If China continues to expand its influence into the Pacific or eventually coming up with a military presence, it is going to be a major factor for the like-minded countries to be concerned about.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government has defended its handling of relations with Solomon Islands and the Pacific, despite criticism from Labor that the security pact amounts to a “foreign policy failure” on the Coalition's watch.
Look at the Solomon Islands - it's right at the doorstep of Australia. And Australia is a very good friend of ours and when Australia cares, we care.Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu
Opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Penny Wong said in April it was the “worst Australian foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since the end of World War Two”.
Mr Wu said he didn’t believe the situation should be described as a “failure” because the “Chinese military hasn’t shown up in the Solomon Islands yet”.
“But the military presence, if this becomes a reality ... I’m sure that is going to be a very serious security concern of the Australian government.”
Mr Lijian said: "The rumour that China will build a military base in Solomon Islands is pure disinformation fabricated by a few individuals with ulterior motives."
Opinion polls suggest concern about the deal among the Australian public, with 72 per cent of 1,408 voters polled 'concerned' or 'very concerned' about the agreement according to a by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Taiwan had a strong diplomatic relationship with the Solomon Islands for almost four decades, during which time the Pacific nation received financial support from the country.
But the Sogavare government severed ties with Taiwan in September 2019 in favour of diplomatic relations with China, a switch that unlocked investment but also stoked internal opposition and unrest within the Pacific nation.
The central government’s decision to switch ties to Beijing has been a flashpoint for the provincial rift between Guadalcanal, home to the capital Honiara, and the second biggest island, Malaita, with Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani highly outspoken against the move.
Many of the anti-government protesters in the capital Honiara last November came from Malaita, the demonstrations later descending into violence with AFP officers and ADF soldiers deployed to help quell the unrest.
Taiwan resists calling for military aid from Australia
The outbreak of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also prompted parallels to be drawn between the prospect of China invading Taiwan by military force.
Mr Wu has described both Ukraine and Taiwan as being on the “frontline facing the expansion of authoritarianism”, with Russia “massacring innocent people” in Ukraine, which is “intolerable” for the free world.
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu announcing Taiwan's humanitarian aid for Ukraine in Taipei. Source: LightRocket / SOPA Images/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
Taiwan says it is an independent country - “a democratic success story” according to Mr Wu - and will defend its freedoms and democracy and blames Beijing for heightened tensions, including repeated aircraft incursions into its self-declared Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
While Australia doesn't formally recognise the self-governed island as a sovereign state, it does support unofficial ties with Taiwan, which is the nation’s 12th largest trading partner.
Mr Wu said he would not ask Australia to participate in a conflict his country is involved in, stressing that Taiwan is “determined to defend ourselves”.
“To us, China is a factor that we cannot ignore ... in the last few years under the leadership of Xi Jinping, China has become so assertive in its sovereignty claims, either over the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait or East China Sea is even tried to expand its influence deep into the Pacific and other areas of the world,” he said.
“Taiwan has to look at its own existence and its survival in a very serious manner.
“For that matter, we need to beef up our defence capability to beef up our status quo and existence of Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.”
Asked directly if Taipei would expect Australia to provide military assistance to help it defend itself, Mr Wu resisted making the plea, instead calling for a united response from Western countries.
“We hope we can continue to speak with the Australian government on what needs to be done in order to prevent a crisis from taking place,” he said.
Taiwan has to look at its own existence and its survival in a very serious manner.Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu
Australia recently provided lethal military aid to Ukraine in response to the conflict, which the Morrison government said had included missiles, ammunition as well as armoured Bushmaster vehicles.
Mr Wu said he was focused on attracting international support from the partners to “speak out” on behalf of Taiwan “before there is any crisis”.
But Taiwan's foreign minister also said: “If there's a need for additional assistance, the Australian support for Taiwan is going to be appreciated.”
As Australians prepare to head to the polls on 21 May, Mr Wu also repeated his calls for closer ties with Australia, saying he expected progress towards this to continue regardless of who wins the upcoming federal election.
“We will continue to speak with the new administration - whoever wins the election,” he said.
“Australia is also a democracy and it’s like-minded with Taiwan - therefore it would not be hard for Taiwan to speak with the new administration in Australia.”
Mr Wu said the focus of Taiwan's “important” relationship with Australia remained to safeguard regional peace and stability, economic relations as well as a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Taiwan's struggle for international recognition
The call for continued support from Australia comes as Taiwan continues to advocate to return as a member of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the governing body of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Taiwan is excluded from most global organisations due to objections from Beijing, which claims this runs counter to its one-China policy.
The self-governed island was invited to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2009, but when the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party took power in 2016, Beijing effectively blocked Taipei from participating as an observer in the organisation.
Taiwan has donated millions of surgical masks since the outbreak of COVID-19. Source: Twitter
“Taiwan, a shining democracy, is entitled to participate in the WHO just as any other country - excluding Taiwan is not fair to the Taiwanese people,” Mr Wu said.
Australia has backed Taiwan's push to return to the WHO, which is due to meet next from 22 to 28 May.
