Taipei: The European Union should clearly communicate to China the consequences it would face if it attempted to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by force, former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday.
According to Focus Taiwan, Rasmussen emphasized the role the EU can play in deterring China from using force to change the status quo, highlighting the strong trade relations between European countries and China. He argued that if the EU were to cut those ties, it would have "severe consequences for the Chinese economy." Rasmussen stressed the importance of conveying these potential consequences to prevent China from miscalculating its actions.
During his visit to Taiwan to speak at the Yushan Forum hosted by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, Rasmussen noted the necessity for Taiwan to demonstrate its resolve to defend itself. He praised President Lai Ching-te's commitment to increasing Taiwan's annual defense budget to 3 percent of GDP, citing the constant threats the country faces.
Rasmussen, who is also chairman of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, urged NATO members to raise their defense budgets to 4 percent of GDP, citing the threat from Russia. He stated that "investment in defense is today the most important investment one can make" and acknowledged that achieving such a goal would be challenging. However, he stressed the importance of self-reliance, saying, "we cannot count on an automatic help from the U.S."
His comments followed a warning against relying on the White House, made during his address at the Yushan Forum, amid recent tensions between the United States and the EU over Washington's changing stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and tariff threats against the EU.
NATO data reveals that since 2014, its 32 members have agreed to commit 2 percent of their GDP to defense spending, with 23 members estimated to achieve that goal by 2024. Among NATO members, only Poland is expected to meet the 4 percent GDP threshold, with defense spending reaching 4.12 percent in 2024, the highest within the alliance.