Experts: Nations Must Strengthen Support for Taiwan to Deter China's Military Coercion and Reshape International Order

(Central News Agency, Reporter Chiu Te-chen, Sydney, June 25) Strategic expert Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) told CNA that China is committed to reshaping an international order in the Indo-Pacific region that weakens U.S. influence. Countries in the region must strengthen cooperation with Taiwan and refuse to allow China's coercive tactics to become an accepted norm, thereby threatening the security of the international community.

ASPI's "Pressure Points" research program released its third report in June, stating that China's military activities within the first island chain have become increasingly frequent and large-scale since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. The report noted that China's current military activities cover areas from the Southwest Pacific to the Indian Ocean. Examples such as the Chinese navy's operations in the Gulf of Aden and China's establishment of an overseas military base in Djibouti indicate that China's security footprint extends far beyond its borders.

"Pressure Points" is ASPI's series of research programs on China's military expansion. The first "Pressure Points" report, released in March 2025, analyzed how China uses its naval and air power, along with other coercive means, to forcefully advance territorial expansion and expand its security interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

The second "Pressure Points" report, released in November 2025, pointed out that as China's military coercion intensifies, the risks across the Taiwan Strait are increasing, and countries in the Indo-Pacific region need to strengthen their actions to maintain regional balance.

Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, co-author of the third "Pressure Points" report, former visiting professor at National Chung Hsing University, and currently a senior fellow at ASPI, told CNA in a phone interview yesterday that China's expanding military activities and deployments in the Indo-Pacific region are not just for current military, political, and economic interests, but more importantly, to reshape an international order that weakens U.S. influence in the region according to Beijing's will.

Rajagopalan said, "China's primary goal is to establish Chinese hegemony and dominance in East Asia and exclude the United States from the region. This has been China's goal for decades. As China's military, political, and, more importantly, economic power grows, China is clearly gradually achieving its goal."

Rajagopalan explained that China's actions to expand its security influence have extended to the Indian Ocean and Pacific regions. She said, "China's fundamental intention is to transform the Indo-Pacific region from a buffer zone into a theater of conflict favorable to China."

Rajagopalan pointed out that China's behavior in the Indo-Pacific region goes beyond China's short- and medium-term economic interests and is highly strategic. She said, "China's foothold in the Indian Ocean began with its involvement in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden in 2000, and the People's Liberation Army Navy's ambitions have grown since then. Today, whether it's the military base in Djibouti, facilities in the Indian Ocean, numerous military and civilian dual-use logistics and infrastructure projects in places like Pakistan and Sri Lanka, coupled with China's attempts to gain access to the Maldives and elsewhere, all clearly show China's commitment to expanding its security influence in the Indo-Pacific region."

Rajagopalan mentioned that China is continuously conducting gray zone operations and other more coercive military actions in the South China Sea and around Taiwan. She said, "China has been gradually increasing pressure, and this tactic of salami slicing is very evident in the South China Sea. China is testing the international community's bottom line step by step, and the same is true for the Taiwan Strait issue."

She warned that if this continues unchecked, it will encourage further coercive actions by China, gradually altering the regional security balance, and potentially impacting the entire rules-based international order.

Rajagopalan emphasized that to counter China's threat, the international community must cooperate more closely with Taiwan, help Taiwan enhance its resilience, and enable Taiwan to participate more fully in regional and international systems. She said, "All of Taiwan's partner countries need to increase their efforts to help Taiwan enhance its readiness for war. Unlike aid to Ukraine, Taiwan needs to receive various forms of assistance it requires before any potential conflict erupts."

Rajagopalan also reminded that in the face of China's threat, Taiwan must strengthen its resolve to defend itself, so that the international community understands the significance of helping Taiwan resist China's coercion. (Editor: Tien Rui-hua) 1150625

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