Some in Taiwan See Parallels to Ukraine

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine, calling it a violation of the United Nations charter, as the self-governed island eyes the conflict closely with its own existential crisis in mind.

Many people within and outside the island are drawing parallels between Taiwan, which is claimed by Beijing, and Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, ordered the island’s armed forces and security personnel to step up surveillance and strengthen defenses as part of an effort to reassure the public. While Beijing now regularly sends warplanes toward Taiwan, there is no sign that an invasion of the island is imminent.

Though the comparison is not perfect, Taiwan, like Ukraine, has long lived in the shadow of a large and overbearing neighbor. Both China’s leader, Xi Jinping, and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia have appealed to nostalgia for an idealized imperial past to justify their present-day territorial claims. Mr. Xi has intensified his warnings to Taiwan not to seek independence from China, just as Mr. Putin has barraged Ukraine with threats and demands.

“We empathize with Ukraine’s situation,” Ms. Tsai said late last month in announcing the creation of a task force to study the tensions in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Ms. Tsai called on her government to remain on high alert against what she described as “cognitive warfare” and disinformation efforts by foreign powers intent on using the tensions in Ukraine to stoke panic and instability in Taiwan.

There are key differences between Ukraine and Taiwan. While most countries do not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation, the island is an important trade partner for the United States and a crucial node in the global supply chain. Its strategic location just off the coast of southeastern China has made it a key part of the United States’ military strategy in the Pacific.

While the Biden administration has said outright that it would not send troops to defend Ukraine, it has not said whether it would defend Taiwan. The policy, known as “strategic ambiguity,” has historically served as a pillar of American deterrence.

The concern among some analysts in Taiwan, however, is that a distracted West or a weak response to a Russian invasion in Ukraine could embolden the ruling Chinese Communist Party to ramp up pressure on the island using what Taiwan’s government has called “gray zone” tactics.

Others have pointed to the tensions in Ukraine to criticize Ms. Tsai, who has kept a distance from Beijing while simultaneously bolstering ties with the United States and other Western countries.

“The Ukraine outcome is right before our eyes,” Chao Chien-min, former deputy minister of Taiwan’s mainland affairs council, said at a conference on Tuesday, according to local news media reports. “Resisting China does not help protect Taiwan — it only accelerates our death.”

Beijing has sought to maintain a balancing act on Ukraine, calling for respect for nations’ sovereignty and territorial integrity, while also implicitly acknowledging Mr. Putin’s grievances.

It has made clear, however, that it sees Taiwan as fundamentally different from Ukraine.

“Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Taiwan issue is purely China’s internal affairs,” Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Amy Chang Chien contributed reporting.