In her recent speech marking her seventh anniversary of governance, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen promised to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, despite increasing diplomatic and military pressure from China. Beijing views Taiwan as its own territory and has been ramping up its economic and military aggression to force the island to accept its sovereignty. However, Tsai’s ruling party supports Taiwanese nationalism and the building of diplomatic ties with other nations, including the US.
Taiwan’s importance to the global economy, particularly as a leading producer of semiconductors, has raised concerns among business leaders such as Elon Musk and Warren Buffet about the impact that a potential invasion by China could have on the world economy. While the intertwined nature of the global economy could potentially deter an invasion, China’s policy towards Taiwan could make it a major focus of the upcoming US election in 2024 as President Xi Jinping pushes for more power.
Despite the increasing tensions, Tsai pledged that Taiwan would not provoke China or bow to its pressure. She called for dialogue to ease tensions on both sides of the Strait and stated that officials are in talks with President Joe Biden’s administration about sending $500 million in weapons assistance to Taiwan to address weapon deliveries that had been delayed as a result of COVID-19.
The Kuomintang party, which favours building ties with Beijing, has framed the 2024 vote as a choice between war and peace under Tsai’s rule. This has left voters divided over what sort of status and relationship Taiwan should have with China. However, the consensus for the world and Taiwan is to maintain the status quo of peace and stability, Tsai said. Taiwan is not a risk taker and will stand with democratic nations and communities around the world to jointly defuse risks.
In addition to increasing military aggression, Taiwan has also faced cyber attacks from China. From April 7 to 10, 2023, a surge in the volume of malicious emails was detected targeting Taiwan’s networking, manufacturing, and logistics industries. Cybersecurity firm Trellix identified PlugX, a remote access Trojan employed by various Chinese threat actors, as one of several malware families targeting Taiwan. The Kryptik trojan and stealers such as Zmutzy and FormBook were also detected in the same period.
In conclusion, while tensions between Taiwan and China continue to rise, President Tsai Ing-wen has vowed to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and avoid provoking China. By seeking dialogue and building diplomatic ties with other nations, including the US, Taiwan hopes to defuse risks and avoid the possibility of a larger international conflict that could have serious economic consequences for the world. However, the upcoming 2024 vote and China’s policy towards Taiwan could potentially make it a major focus of the US election.
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