Taiwan says it will join 'democratic countries' to sanction Russia

TAIPEI — Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Friday the island will join “democratic countries” to put sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, although he did not give details.

The crisis is being watched closely in Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory and has faced increased military pressure by Beijing over the last two years.

“We very harshly condemn such an act of invasion and will join democratic countries to jointly impose sanctions,” Su told reporters in Taipei without giving details.

Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua told reporters the island will “harshly scrutinize” exports to Russia and “coordinate” with unspecified allies for further actions. She did not elaborate.

The foreign ministry said in a statement that the island, which is key in the global semiconductor supply chain, will “coordinate closely with the United States and other like-minded countries to adopt appropriate measures in order to free Ukraine from the horrors of war.”

Su vowed to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty and safety and said some “foreign forces” were working to link Taiwan’s situation to that in Ukraine, in what Taipei sees as a campaign of “cognitive warfare” and misinformation.

“We deeply despise those who echo the cognitive warfare launched by foreign forces,” he said.

Taiwan’s government has said the island and Ukraine are fundamentally different in terms of their geostrategic and geographical environment and importance in international supply chains.

Taiwan’s trade with Ukraine and Russia each accounted for less than 1% of its total, government data showed.

The island’s natural gas contract with Russia is due to expire in March and Taiwan will diversify its supplies, the economic ministry said on Thursday.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sam Holmes)