Taiwanese minister urges Australia to protect country from China war- ‘Better prepared!’ | World | News

In an interview for ABC’s China Tonight program, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister laid bare Taiwan’s request to help prepare for a future possible attack from Beijing. On Monday, Taiwan’s defence ministry said 36 fighter jets, 12 H-6 nuclear-capable bombers and four other planes from China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Face entered Taiwan’s southwest (ADIZ) air defence identification zone.

Joseph Wu said: “We would like to engage in security or intelligence exchanges with other like-minded partners, Australia included, so Taiwan is better prepared to deal with the war situation.

“And so far, our relations with Australia [are] very good and that is what we appreciate.”

He spoke about the recent AUKUS deal which is set to battle Chinese dominance in the region.

He said: “Australia is a great country, and I’m very glad to see that Australia is going to shoulder more responsibility to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”

READ MORE: Taiwanese Minister warns his country will defend itself from China

China’s long-standing dispute with the democratically-ruled Taiwan stems from claims the country is a part of China’s sovereign territory.

However, Taiwan vehemently opposes Chinese reunification and rule from Beijing.

Taiwan has also been involved in a recent $750 million (£540million) arms sale with America in a bid to contain what the US see as Chinese expansionism.

In September, the USS Barry, a guided-missile destroyer, completed a transit of the Taiwan Strait as tensions between the two countries rose in the wake of the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement.

In response to the presence of the ship in China’s territory, Beijing ripped into the US as the “destroyer of peace”.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the US of increasing tensions by trading weapons to Taiwan and sending ships through the Taiwan strait.

Hua Chunying, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said in a statement: “China will take all necessary countermeasures and resolutely crush any ‘Taiwan independence’ plot.”

On Monday, the US state department said: “Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.”