Today Co-Chairs and Members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, launched ‘Operation MIST’ – a campaign to press governments to assess and measure the domestic economic impact of a shock in the Taiwan Strait.
The campaign, which grew out of the IPAC Prague Summit in September 2023, aims to rebut President Macron’s contention that “Europe should not be caught in conflicts which are not ours”, by compelling governments to expose the truth: that Cross Strait stability is in the domestic interests of nearly every country in the world.
The campaign launched with a video on 7th March 2024, featuring 17 politicians from 14 countries, and publishing news of a few parliamentary initiatives linked to the campaign, with more to follow.
- Jan Paternotte, Co-Chair of IPAC and Social Liberal MP from the Netherlands, is hosting a parliamentary inquiry in late March.
- Co-Chair Senator Malcom Byrne moved a motion in the Irish Seanad, calling for the government to “…conduct an economic analysis of the ownership of assets in Ireland by companies linked to the Chinese Government and the potential impact of various foreseeable scenarios in the Taiwan Strait upon the Irish economy.”
- UK Member Stewart McDonald MP asked an oral question of the Asia Minister, Anne-Marie Travelyan MP. UK Member Lord Alton also raised in debate.
The campaign follows ground breaking reports from the Rhodium Group and Bloomberg. Rhodium’s report argued that the cost of a blockade could not be lower than 2.5 trillion USD, based on shipping data alone. Bloomberg recently published a broader analysis, taking into account some likely contingencies, concluding that a blockade could cost 10 trillion USD. The findings of these reports are consistent with each other.
No country will be immune from this economic fallout, which is likely to be at least five times worse than the economic damage caused by Ukraine. Ordinary people will have to bear the consequences if governments fail to de-escalate and deter Cross-Strait conflict. It behooves elected representatives worldwide to ensure this does not happen.
LAUNCH VIDEO:
COMMENT FROM IPAC CO-CHAIRS AND MEMBERS
Jan Paternotte MP, Dutch politician, said:
“A blockade of Taiwan would have disastrous consequences for the global economy. The Dutch economy, for example, with its reliance on chips and large ships would be among the worst hit in Europe. We cannot allow our constituents bear the cost for failing to mitigate a clearly foreseeable risk. We must do everything in our power to deter and prepare for escalation.”
Senator David Fawcett, Liberal politician from Australia said:
“Cross-Strait stability is in all of our interests. A deterioration of these relations would lead to an economic shock that would be felt across the globe. By modelling and understanding the domestic cost of a shock in the Taiwan Strait our Governments will be better placed to prioritise effort in maintaining the status-quo.”
Senator Olivier Cadic, French Senator, said:
“We must ensure the people of Taiwan receive the support they deserve.”
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