The Guardian (October 18) reported US Secretary of State Blinken as saying in conversation
with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at Stanford University on October 17, that
China’s government is pursuing its plans to annex Taiwan on a “much faster timeline” under
Xi Jinping. He reiterated warnings of global economic disruption if Taiwan was taken over.
Blinken said peace and stability between China and Taiwan had been successfully maintained
for decades, but Beijing had changed its approach. He said “Instead of sticking with the status
quo that was established in a positive way, [Beijing has made] a fundamental decision that the
status quo is no longer acceptable, and Beijing is determined to pursue reunification on a much
faster timeline”. “If peaceful means didn’t work then would employ coercive means, and
possibly if coercive means don’t work then maybe forceful means to achieve its objective. That
is what is profoundly disrupting the status quo and creating tremendous tensions.” Speaking to
reporters Blinken said “The amount of commercial traffic that goes through the Straits every
day and has an impact on economies around the world is enormous. If that was to be disrupted
as a result of a crisis, countries around the world would suffer. [On] semiconductors – if
Taiwanese production were disrupted as a result of the crisis, you would have an economic
crisis around the world.” He added “We are at an inflection point”. “Technology will in many
ways retool our economies. It will reform our militaries. It will reshape the lives of people
across the planet. And so it’s profoundly a source of national strength.”
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