Canada is opposed to the use of force to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, the country’s new representative to Taiwan said recently while reminding Beijing that invading Taipei would not be in its interest, either.
In an interview with CNA on Oct. 27, Jim Nickel said Canada shares the view of “all democratic societies, including Taiwan,” that the use of force to change the current status quo was “completely unacceptable.”
“And I would be hopeful, too, that China would recognize and understand that the use of force against Taiwan would not be in China’s interest,” he said.
Concerns over the use of force have risen following China’s aggressive military maneuvers around Taiwan in August and the complete consolidation of power by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at the recent congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
United States President Joe Biden recently pledged to send troops to Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, but when asked what Canada, a close ally of the U.S., would do in such a scenario, Nickel diplomatically sidestepped the question, calling it a “hypothetical situation.”
“I think our approach would be we would like to do what’s necessary to avoid that scenario,” the new executive director of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT) said.
The more important task at hand, Nickel said, was how democratic societies can make a contribution, or at least let their voices be heard, to actually “preserve peace and stability and avoid the scenario.”
Nickel took over as head of the CTOT, the de facto Canadian embassy in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties, on Sept. 20.
A seasoned Foreign Service officer, Nickel had most recently served as deputy head of mission at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, a post he had held since August 2018.
He also has worked at Canada’s missions in Japan, Indonesia and India. Before joining the Department of External Affairs in 1991, he taught English in China from 1987 to 1989.
Nickel told CNA that he never had the chance to visit Taiwan before and was “thrilled and honored” to be able to serve here, especially after his posting in Beijing.
“You know, obviously, sitting in the People’s Republic of China, we hear a lot about relations between Taiwan and PRC,” but most of what he heard was from the perspective of the Chinese Communist Party.
“I was quite interested to come here and hear more from a Taiwanese perspective on this issue,” he said.
Asked if he was told why he was sent Taipei immediately after serving in Beijing, Nickel said he believed his two decades of experience in the region was likely the main reason, as Canada prepares to release its own Indo-Pacific strategy.
“I would fully expect we’ll see a step-up in effort by Canada in the Indo Pacific region,” he said.
In Taipei for a little more than a month, the envoy said he was hoping to do his utmost to enhance bilateral relations on all fronts, as people are beginning to resume overseas travel after the lifting of COVID-related restrictions by many countries.
“We’re going to have a lot more opportunity for interaction between people in all walks of life in Taiwan and Canada, and that in itself will provide new opportunities that we maybe haven’t been able to explore over the last three years,” he said.
In terms of business and trade, Nickel saw strong potential for growth in several fields given that the respective economic strengths of Canada and Taiwan are very complementary.
Among the areas he identified as opportunities for greater engagement were renewable energy, communication technologies, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, health care, electric vehicles, and semiconductors.
Nickel is filling the vacancy left by his predecessor Jordan Reeves in July.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel