Ukraine crisis: Taiwan military ordered to be combat-ready from outside disruptions

Taiwan military has been ordered by President Tsai Ing-wen to stay ready in case of disruption by ‘outside force’ amid the Ukraine crisis.

Taiwan is nervous that Beijing may take advantage of a distracted West to ramp up pressure on the island.

The government, always on alert to what they view as Chinese provocations, last month set up a Ukraine working group under the National Security Council.

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“We should continue to strengthen the combat readiness of our forces in the Taiwan Strait to ensure our safety,” Tsai said.

Self-ruled democratic Taiwan has watched the Ukraine situation closely, as China claims sovereignty over the island and has vowed to seize it one day,by force if necessary.

Beijing has ramped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, as she rejects the stance that the island is Chinese territory.

She described Taiwan and Ukraine as "fundamentally different in terms of geostrategy, geographical environment, and the importance of international supply chains," referring to the island's status as a major plank in the global economy, especially semiconductors.

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu warned in two foreign media interviews this month that they were watching very closely to see whether China would take advantage of the Ukraine crisis to attack.

"China may think about using military action against Taiwan at any moment, and we need to be prepared for that," he told Britain's ITV News.

Speaking in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying dismissed any link between the issues of Ukraine and Taiwan.

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

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday that if Western nations failed to fulfil their promises to support Ukraine's independence, it would have damaging consequences worldwide, including for Taiwan.

Taiwan, which rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, has lived under the threat of Chinese invasion since the defeated Republic of China government fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war to the Communists.

(With inputs from agencies)