Micah Jonah
February 16, 2026
Taiwan has declared that China, not any other country, poses the real threat to regional security, dismissing comments made by Beijing’s top diplomat at the Munich Security Conference.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, Lin Chia-lung, on Sunday accused China of hypocrisy, saying it cannot claim to uphold the principles of the United Nations Charter while engaging in military provocations around the island.
China views Taiwan as part of its territory, a claim strongly rejected by the government in Taipei, which insists that only the people of Taiwan can determine their future.
Speaking at the security conference in Germany on Saturday, China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, warned that some countries were attempting to “split Taiwan from China”. He also stressed the importance of upholding the UN Charter, blamed external forces for rising tensions in the region.
However, Lin, in a strongly worded statement, said Taiwan’s sovereignty has never belonged to the People’s Republic of China, whether viewed from historical facts, international law or present day realities.
He accused Beijing of repeatedly violating the UN Charter, particularly the principle of refraining from the threat or use of force.
“In fact, China has recently engaged in military provocations in surrounding areas, has openly violated UN Charter principles,” Lin stated, adding that Beijing’s actions expose what he described as a hegemonic mindset that does not match its words.
China’s military has continued daily operations around Taiwan and staged large scale war games near the island in December under what it called “Justice Mission 2025”.
Taiwanese senior officials, including Lin, were not invited to attend the Munich Security Conference.
Beijing maintains that Taiwan was returned to Chinese rule after Japan’s defeat in World War Two in 1945, argues that questioning this undermines Chinese sovereignty and the post war international order.
But Taipei counters that the island was handed over to the Republic of China in 1945, not the People’s Republic of China, which was established four years later in 1949 after the communists led by Mao Zedong won the civil war.
The defeated republican government subsequently relocated to Taiwan, where the Republic of China remains the island’s official name.
Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have continued to draw global attention, with analysts warning that miscalculation by either side could escalate into a broader regional crisis.
