5:32AM October 9, 2021
Tony Abbott with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on October 7
Former prime minister Tony Abbott, speaking in Taipei, has delivered the most sweeping critique of China by a former Australian prime minister since diplomatic relations were established between Canberra and Beijing more than 50 years ago.
In a keynote address delivered in person on Friday to an audience including Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, Mr Abbott declared “nothing is more pressing right now, than solidarity with Taiwan” as alarm rises about the security of the island of 24 million people.
“Two years back I hesitated to attend this conference lest that provoke China,” the former Prime Minister conceded, before outlining the reasons for his total reassessment of President Xi Jinping’s China.
“Since then, Beijing has torn-up the ‘one country, two systems’ treaty on Hong Kong; put upwards of a million Uighurs into concentration camps; boosted cyber spying on its own citizens; cancelled popular personalities in favour of a cult of the new red emperor; brutalised Indian soldiers in the Himalayas; coerced other claimants in its eastern seas; and flown evermore intimidatory sorties against Taiwan,” Mr Abbott told the Yushan Forum.
Xi’s China had also “weaponised trade” with sanctions on Australian exports previously worth more than $20 billion a year, he explained, after the Morrison government called for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.
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“So this year, I’m here, having concluded that China’s belligerence is all self-generated,” he told a high powered audience that included Taiwan’s foreign Minister Joseph Wu and senior Taiwanese security officials.
President Tsai — who the former PM met on Thursday with Australia’s most senior official in Taiwan, Jenny Bloomfield — thanked Mr Abbott for what Taiwan’s foreign ministry called an “important, historic and also inspirational” trip.
“You and your country’s consistent effort to defend democracy, its values and [the] rules based international order while resisting coercion from authoritarian countries is truly courageous and admirable,” President Tsai said.
Mr Abbott’s visit followed an online addressed his successor Malcolm Turnbull delivered at last year’s conference, another sign of the rising support for Taiwan across Australia’s political establishment.
Despite their strained relationship, Mr Turnbull backed Abbott’s high profile visit, which included meetings with Taiwan’s foreign Minister and a top security adviser.
“I am here as citizen Abbott,” Mr Abbott said when asked if he was officially representing the Morrison government.
“But … one thing about being a former prime minister is you do have a bit of a megaphone,” Mr Abbott said.
“I want the people of Taiwan to know that they are not nearly as isolated as Beijing would like them to feel,” he added.
The Xi administration has caused alarm around the world with its menacing military operations near Taiwan and threats by Beijing’s propaganda machine that “war is real”.
The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that a U.S. special-operations unit and a contingent of Marines have been secretly operating in Taiwan to train its military forces as concern mounts about China’s intentions.
Taiwan’s defence Minister this week warned military tensions with China were at their “most serious” in more than 40 years, and said Beijing would have the capability to launch a “full scale” invasion by 2025.
“If the ‘drums of war’ can be heard in our region, as an official of ours has noted, it’s not Australia that’s beating them,” Mr Abbott said.
“The only drums we beat are for justice and freedom – freedom for all people, in China and in Taiwan, to make their own decisions about their lives and their futures,” he said.
Mr Abbott noted increased co-ordination among Australia’s allies and partners, concerned about Beijing’s rising tempo of military operations in the region.
“It’s Beijing that’s created the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – linking the United States, Japan, India and Australia – because it’s been so unreasonable,” he said.
He said internal drivers in China were driving its heightened aggression, which made it “quite possible that Beijing could lash out disastrously very soon”.
“Our challenge is to try to ensure that the unthinkable remains unlikely; and that the possible doesn’t become the probable,” he said.
“That’s why Taiwan’s friends are so important now — to stress that Taiwan’s future should be decided by its own people; and to let Beijing know that any attempt at coercion would have incalculable consequences.”
The Biden administration this week said America’s commitment to Taiwan was “rock solid”, after Beijing flew almost 150 fighter jets near Taiwan.
“I don’t think America could stand by and watch Taiwan swallowed up,” Mr Abbott said.
“I don’t think Australia should be indifferent to the fate of a fellow democracy of almost 25 million people.”
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theaustralian.com.au1:23 Former PM Tony Abbott offers support to Taiwan as tensions with China escalate |
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has offered his democratic support to Taiwan in the face of what he has labelled “China's challenges”.
Mark Harrison, a University of Tasmania specialist on Taiwan, said Mr Abbott’s “meaningful” personal visit followed stronger statements from Australia about Taiwan over the last 12 months.
“Security is dominating foreign policy and Canberra has decided, rightly, that conflict in the Taiwan Strait and Beijing’s continual threatening of Taiwan is not in our national interests, so it is pushing back,” Professor Harrison said.
He added that Taiwan’s President Tsai had also “proven especially skilled” at dealing with the concerns of foreign governments, which could make further trips more likely.
Australia does not recognise Taiwan as a sovereign country, but has a One China policy that differs from Beijing’s “One China principle”, which treats the island as a renegade province.
Canberra “acknowledges”, but does not “recognise” Beijing’s claim over Taiwan.
The last visit by a sitting Australian Minister was by Craig Emerson in 2012 when he was trade Minister in the Gillard government.
“Australia’s Taiwan policy has lagged behind the United States in recent years, at least in terms of high-level visits,” said Natasha Kassam, a foreign policy expert at the Lowy Institute.
In his address, Mr Abbott noted his government had supported China’s rise, signing a free-trade agreement and joining a Chinese-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank.
“I thought that would help to give China a stake in a rules-based global order,” he said.
Mr Abbott repeated a sentiment expressed many times by the Morrison government.
“Australia has no issue with China. We welcome trade, investment and visits, just not further hectoring about being the chewing gum on China’s boot,” he said.
Mr Abbott said “Taiwan will be the test” as to whether Xi’s China could rebuild trust with the international community.
He said the democratic world needed to support democratic Taiwan, including by welcoming it into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
He added that Beijing’s application to join the giant pact could never be admitted while it “engaged in a trade war with Australia and in predatory trade all-round”.
“Nothing is more pressing right now, than solidarity with Taiwan, if we want a better world,” he said.
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