Asia: EU countries call for patrolling of Taiwan Strait

EU diplomatic chief Joseph Borrell called on member states’ navies to patrol the Taiwan Strait in an article published by a French media outlet on Sunday, after ruling on Tuesday that Taiwan was “vital” to Europe.

“Europe should be very much in this document about us economically, commercially and technologically,” wrote Joseph Borrell. Sunday newspaper. “That’s why I’m calling on European navies to patrol the Taiwan Strait, signaling Europe’s commitment to freedom of navigation in this absolutely critical area.”

‘World’s Most Strategic Strait’

“Taiwan is important for Europe,” Joseph Borrell said on Tuesday at the start of a debate dedicated to China at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “It is the most strategic strait in the world, especially in terms of trade: we must be there through freedom of navigation operations”, he had already pleaded. “Taiwan is firmly part of our strategic border to guarantee peace and protect our interests,” added the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

It comes two weeks after controversial statements by French President Emmanuel Macron, rejecting “a logic to block” the Taiwan question and urging Europe “not to follow” the US or China. China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since 1949, but Beijing considers the democratic island one of its provinces and has not ruled out using force to exercise its sovereignty there.

Two days after President Macron visited China in early April, a French surveillance warship en route to South Korea from Vietnam passed through the Taiwan Strait. According to French military officials, the passage is part of a long-planned mission “in international waters, in accordance with freedom of navigation.”

(AFP)Show comments