Taiwan annexation by China would threaten Japan, Philippines: Lai

Taipei, Feb. 12 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) warned in a recent interview that if "expansionist" China were to take Taiwan, its neighbors would be next.

"If Taiwan were annexed by China, China's expansionist ambitions would not stop there," Lai told AFP in a recent interview published Thursday.

If Taiwan falls, it will embolden Beijing to take more aggressive action, the president cautioned.

"The next countries under threat would be Japan, the Philippines, and others in the Indo-Pacific region, with repercussions eventually reaching the Americas and Europe," he said, adding that in today's interconnected world, events in any single country inevitably affect the global community.

China-Japan relations have deteriorated after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in the parliament in November that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan and could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

Since then, Beijing has stepped up military pressure on Japan, with Chinese J-15 fighter jets locking their radars on two Japanese F-15 aircraft near Okinawa and J-16 fighter jets operating in tandem with Russian bombers in a sortie into Japan's southwestern airspace in December.

Meanwhile, tensions have been high between China and the Philippines in contested waters in the South China Sea near the Second Thomas Shoal and Scarborough Shoal, with multiple collisions between coast guard vessels from the two countries reported since 2024.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned in August that his country would inevitably be "drawn into" a war between Taiwan and China, given the proximity between Taiwan and the Philippines.

During the interview, Lai said Taiwan-United States relations remain "rock solid," adding that he is confident that the U.S. does not need to use Taiwan as a "bargaining chip" in talks with China.

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in April in Beijing, where the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral trade and other matters.

"In the context of U.S.-China trade competition, China seeks far more from the U.S. than the U.S. does from China," Lai told AFP.

Lai said Taiwan welcomes any talks between the two leaders that would help maintain the status quo and that he believed President Trump is "undertaking a difficult peace-building effort."

He also outlined his vision for the global semiconductor supply chain, with production taking place in Europe, Japan and the U.S., where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) operations have expanded, but with Taiwan retaining its lead in the sector by keeping "the most advanced manufacturing processes."

Taiwan's semiconductor planning in the U.S. is a crucial area in bilateral relations.

In its soon-to-be-concluded trade negotiations with the U.S., Taiwan has pledged US$250 billion in direct investments in the U.S. semiconductor, energy and artificial intelligence sectors.