The European Parliament on Tuesday voted to pass a resolution expressing concern over China’s “threats” to Taiwan’s sovereignty and security in the wider Indo-Pacific region.

The resolution — which was based on a report from the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on security challenges in the Indo-Pacific — was adopted in a 474-60 plenary session vote, with 80 abstentions.

According to the report, China’s use of military action to threaten the territorial integrity of Taiwan had exerted “further strain on regional security and stability.”

The report pointed to China’s rapid military build-up and increasingly assertive and expansionist behavior in the Indo-Pacific region as well as its military activities in the Taiwan Strait as evidence of Beijing’s destabilizing influence.

The report made particular note of what it called Beijing’s “deliberate and repeated violations” of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

Taiwan’s defense ministry has been publishing information about the rising number of intrusions into the country’s ADIZ by Chinese military aircraft since Sept. 17, 2020. The highest number of incursions reported by the MND this year was 39, on Jan. 23.

The EU’s report “warns of the danger of an accelerated arms race in the region” and “calls for the EU to prepare a strategy based on realities on the ground that would allow it [the EU] to react if need be.”

The report also “strongly refutes any attempt by Chinese propaganda to draw similarities between the Russian war in Ukraine and the overall security situation of Taiwan.”

The situations in Ukraine and Taiwan differ significantly, both historically and when analyzing the role of Taiwan in the regional and global context, it added.

The report stressed its opposition to any unilateral action undermining the cross-strait status quo, and stressed that any change must not be made against the will of Taiwan’s citizens.

At the same time, the report recognized Taiwan as “a key partner and democratic ally in the Indo-Pacific,” and called for the EU to enhance its existing partnership with Taiwan to promote common values such as democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and good governance in the region.

The report also encouraged the EU to work with Taiwan on securing the free navigation of primary maritime routes, ensuring open and safe airspace, and tackling climate change.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) thanked the European Parliament for taking concrete steps to support Taiwan.

According to MOFA, the resolution adopted Tuesday showed the European Parliament’s wariness regarding “China’s increasingly assertive behaviors that undermine regional peace and stability.”

As a responsible actor in the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan will continue working with the EU and the bloc’s member states to contribute to the peace and stability of the region and counter the threats posed by authoritarian regimes to the international order, MOFA said in the statement.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel