Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu warned on Wednesday that China's invasion of Taiwan would have "catastrophic consequences," especially given the island's strategic importance to the semiconductor industry and global shipping lanes.
Wu said the use of force against Taiwan would have global repercussions, especially with food and fuel shortages and soaring inflation caused by Russia's war on Ukraine.
Taiwan should explain to the international community that if there was any conflict involved, the consequences would be catastrophic for the rest of the world.
Taiwan's foreign minister's warning came as Taiwan faces increasing military and political pressure from China through the Taiwan Strait.
More than 50 percent of the world's shipping containers pass through a 180-kilometer-wide waterway separating Taiwan from mainland China, Wu said, stressing that freedom of navigation is a critical element of international security.
He also pointed to the possibility of disruption to supply chains if China invades his country, because Taiwan almost completely acquires the production of semiconductors, which are the microchips that are the lifeblood of the modern economy and enter all simple and complex industries.
Possible invasion
Taiwan has seen near-daily incursions of Chinese warplanes around its air defense zone and warship patrols since August, when former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan's capital Taipei on a trip that angered Beijing.
Relations between Taipei and Beijing have deteriorated since the election in 2016 of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who rejected Taiwan as part of China.
Global attention to cross-strait tensions has escalated in the past year, which Foreign Minister Wu attributes to Russia's war on Ukraine.
The international community looks around and sees China's record of threatening Taiwan and then realizes that Taipei could be next, Wu said, referring to the timeline centered around 2027 as the likely year for a Chinese invasion when it has sufficient military capability.