Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed :
The world politics is going through one crisis after another. The scale of the crisis is escalating towards conflict. The Taiwan crisis has arisen the position of the world’s two superpowers, the USA and China. Taiwan is basically an island in the South China Sea, separated from mainland China. Once a as Dutch colony, Taiwan was ruled by Chinese kings from 1683 to 1895. Then the Japanese occupied this island. After World War II, control of Taiwan was handed over to the Chinese government led by Chiang Kai-shek. In China, Chiang Kai-shek’s government began to defeat the war with the Communist forces led by Mao Tse Tung. They lost control of most of China. Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang government then fled to Taiwan. There they formed a government called ‘Republic of China’. They also claim to be the representative government of the whole of China.
For a long time, the United Nations and many countries around the world recognized Chiang Kai-shek’s government as the real government of China. Even the government of Taiwan represented China in the UN Security Council until 1971. Then the situation changed. In 1971, the United Nations recognized Chinese government as the ‘real government of China’. Since then, one by one, almost every country in the world sided with China, and Taiwan’s international recognition continues to decline. But America continued to support Taiwan. The US claims that the Taiwan Strait is international waters. Since the Taiwan Straits are not under the territorial jurisdiction of any state, there is freedom of navigation and aircraft over there. International law has that protection.
The US may stand by Taiwan if war breaks out. The Americans have been selling arms to the island for a long time. Last May, US President Joe Biden was asked whether the US would stand by with military assistance to defend Taiwan in the event of a war-like situation. In response, Biden said, “Yes.” Sino-Taiwan relations further soured with Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. In 2021, the tension between China and Taiwan reached its peak. The largest number of fighter jets penetrated in October. Taiwan’s defense minister then commented that Taiwan’s relations with China are at their worst level in 40 years. Japan’s role is also important if Taiwan is attacked. China has traditionally regarded Japan as an enemy country due to its bitter past experience of Japan’s role with Britain. However, China also has a strong claim to the ownership of the islands under the control of Japan. In the overall situation, as Japan stated very clearly in a military strategy paper in July last year, Taiwan’s independence is very important for a free and secure Asia Pacific. If China invades Taiwan, Japan must participate in the war on behalf of Taiwan.
Washington announced plans for formal trade talks with Taiwan by the autumn in a show of support for the democracy in response to China’s drills, despite not holding official ties with the government in Taipei. China lashes out at any diplomatic action that recognises Taiwan as a sovereign nation and has imposed symbolic sanctions on its economy.
Bangladesh has stated that it is sticking to the position of one China policy. Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said that there will be no change in the position of Bangladesh in the One China Policy. However, Bangladesh is seeking resolution of the tension through talks between the concerned parties. The Chinese president has recently announced initiatives such as the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI). China wants Bangladesh to support these initiatives. They thanked Bangladesh for its stance on the “One China” policy. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh values friendship with China and believes in the One China principle.
Bangladesh has reiterated its firm adherence to “One China” principle and urged all parties concerned to resolve their differences in accordance with the UN Charter and through dialogue. Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, Li Jiming, said they believe that the government and people of Bangladesh will continue to abide by the one-China principle, understand and support China’s legitimate and justified position on Taiwan, and work together with China to defend regional peace, stability and prosperity. In a statement, he said China and Bangladesh are good neighbours, trustworthy friends and reliable partners. The two countries have always understood and supported each other on issues of core interests concerning respective sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.
However, the fundamental aspect of our foreign policy has been reflected in Bangladesh’s support for the One China Policy. Because, Bangladesh does not believe in war or conflict with against neighboring country. In this case, if we review the history, it can be seen that the inhabitants of the Taiwan Islands, which were part of China at one time, can be called as Chinese citizens in a sense. In that case, Bangladesh will not take into account any other third party’s response or displeasure regarding Bangladesh’s support. China poses a formidable challenge to America both militarily and economically.
If Taiwan does not show a compromising attitude, war will become inevitable for China. The outcome of the Sino-Taiwan conflict will be World War III.
(The writer is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar & VDP).
