Liz Truss to warn UK and EU 'can't wash their hands' of Taiwan in swipe at Sunak
Britain and the EU must not “wash their hands” of the threat China poses to Taiwan, Liz Truss will warn in Taipei.
In a speech early on Wednesday, the former Prime Minister is expected to urge the West to boost military cooperation with the breakaway island, which Beijing has vowed to retake by 2050 - by force if necessary.
In what could be seen as thinly-veiled rebuke to Rishi Sunak's approach to British-Sino relations, she is due to tell the Prospect Foundation think tank: “The future of Taiwan is of great importance to Europe.
“I believe that it is completely irresponsible for European nations to wash their hands of Taiwan on the grounds that it is a long way away or not a core interest to our continent - on the contrary, it is a core interest to the people of Europe.
“A blockade or invasion of Taiwan would undermine freedom and democracy in Europe, just as a Russian victory in Ukraine would undermine freedom and democracy in the Pacific.”
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She warns the West has a choice whether to “appease or to accommodate” Beijing.
Liz Truss walks with Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu upon her arrival at the Taoyuan airport in Taiwan (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)“There are those who say they don’t want another Cold War. But this is not a choice we are in a position to make because China has already embarked on a self-reliance drive, whether we want to decouple from their economy or not,” she will say.
“China is growing its navy at an alarming rate and is undertaking the biggest military build-up in peacetime history.
“They have already formed alliances with other nations that want to see the free world in decline, they have already made a choice about their strategy.
“The only choice we have is whether we appease and accommodate – or we take action to prevent conflict.”
The ex-leader will claim the West “cannot pretend there can be meaningful deterrence without hard power - and if we are serious about preventing conflict in the South China Sea, we need to get real about military and defence cooperation”.
China, led by President Xi Jinping, has vowed to retake Taiwan by 2050, using force if necessary (AFP via Getty Images)Ms Truss has become the first former British PM to visit Taiwan since Margaret Thatcher, who made two trips in 1992 and 1996.
Since being forced out of No10 as Britain’s shortest-serving premier, Ms Truss has tried to forge a niche as a hawk on Beijing, warning of China’s rising military might and growing economic dominance.
Her visit could create a diplomatic headache for the UK Government, which does not recognise Taiwan, nor maintain formal diplomatic relations with the island.
Ms Truss is expected to describe the island as “a shining beacon in the Pacific - it’s an enduring rebuke to totalitarianism, it is an example of the power of free enterprise, it shows the importance of a free society for human happiness”.
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Liz Truss, left, shakes hands with Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)In a thinly-veiled message to No10, she will tell her Taiwanese hosts: “We in the United Kingdom and the free world must do all we can to back you.”
One Tory MP earlier accused the social media-loving backbencher of “Instagram diplomacy”.
But she defended her visit, accusing China of trying to create a policy where “nobody in any Western democracy should have any engagement at all with Taiwan”.
Speaking earlier this week to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, she said China was “a very clear threat”, adding: “I think they’re the largest threat we face to the free world.
“I believe that we all need to wake up to the threat China presents.
“We need to make sure that Taiwan is able to defend itself and we’re not facing a very serious situation down the track.”
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