March 20, 2025
The European Commission and the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on March 19 issued the joint White Paper for European Defence—Readiness 2030. The paper expressed great concern over China’s rapid military buildup, noting that China was intensifying coercive political, economic, military, cyber, and cognitive measures against Taiwan. It emphasized that a shifting Taiwan status quo raised the risk of a major disruption that would have profound economic and strategic consequences for Europe.
The white paper also underscored the paramount importance of critical raw materials to economic and industrial production, defense capabilities, and competitiveness, adding that they were increasingly a cause for competition and conflict as an aspect of power politics. It pointed out that an escalation of tensions across the Taiwan Strait could cut off EU access to critical materials, technologies, and components. The paper further called attention to the cross-border challenges posed by hybrid threats and cyberattacks, noting that these would be addressed by the EU through greater security cooperation with like-minded partners worldwide.
In June 2023, the European Council summit adopted conclusions that for the first time included content highlighting EU concern over growing tensions across the Taiwan Strait and opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. This affirmed that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are a common concern shared by the 27 EU member states. Last year, the European External Action Service (EEAS) issued statements in prompt response to China’s Joint Sword-2024A and Joint Sword-2024B military drills, stressing the strategic importance of cross-strait peace and stability to regional and global security and prosperity as well as the EU’s direct interest in the preservation of the Taiwan Strait status quo.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung sincerely welcomes and appreciates the EU’s continued close attention to developments across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific, intense concern over all forms of Chinese coercion targeting Taiwan, and staunch support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Minister Lin reiterates that Taiwan will steadily deepen cooperation and exchanges with the EU and other like-minded partners to jointly safeguard the core values of freedom and democracy, uphold the rules-based international order, and demonstrate to the world its determination to defend its democracy.