Anwar supports Taiwan 'reunification'

 

Anwar supports Taiwan 'reunification'

WASHINGTON -- When Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim received Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Perdana Putra last week, he said his country upholds the "One China" policy and "firmly supports China in achieving national reunification."

Support for China's "reunification" with Taiwan was not a phrase that Anwar used when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in March 2023, at least according to the Chinese readout.

But Anwar joins a list of Global South and other leaders who have recently mentioned "reunification" in their meetings with Li or President Xi Jinping.

China has long made its diplomatic relationships contingent upon its partners' acknowledgment that there is only "one China." But its recent engagements with some other countries suggest it increasingly demands more than that.

"Beijing is no longer satisfied with deterring Taiwan independence. Xi Jinping is now seeking to promote 'reunification,'" said Bonnie Glaser, the managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.