In Malaysia, Mahbubani Calls Taiwan Asia’s Most Dangerous Issue
Former Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani called Taiwan Asia’s most dangerous issue at the first Penang Peace Dialogue forum in Malaysia. In his view, a conflict in the Taiwan Strait could draw in the United States and trigger a catastrophic confrontation with devastating consequences for Southeast Asia, the South China Morning Post reports.
Taiwan’s future
Mahbubani urged Taiwan not to declare independence, warning that this would “automatically start a war.” He believes Taipei should seek creative diplomatic arrangements that would allow it to preserve the island’s autonomy and way of life under a principled reunification with mainland China.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and does not rule out the use of force to achieve reunification. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognize self-governed Taiwan as an independent state. At the same time, Washington opposes attempts to seize the island by force and has committed to supplying it with weapons for defense.
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China-India relations
The diplomat also said that improving relations between China and India is important for Asia’s future. According to him, after the deadly border clash in 2020, relations between the two countries effectively froze, but are now beginning to improve.
Mahbubani believes Southeast Asian countries should more actively help facilitate dialogue between Beijing and New Delhi. In his view, to achieve its goal of becoming a manufacturing powerhouse and the century’s third great power, India should engage constructively with China, which controls about one-third of global manufacturing capacity.
During his speech, Mahbubani also spoke about the “mental colonization” of Asian countries and their growing confidence. Asia is home to approximately 4.3 billion people, or about 60% of the world’s population.
