Republic of China (Taiwan) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and China’s leader Xi Jinping should resume dialogue on the Taiwan issue, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told a business forum in Taipei on Wednesday, adding that a war in the Taiwan Strait would adversely impact the entire region.
Both Tsai and Xi should “resume the diplomatic track [and/or] the political track for discussions for the future,” said Rudd, who currently serves as president and chief executive officer of the research institute Asia Society, while virtually attending the forum held by Taiwan-based Global Views Monthly.
Although it remains unclear what results could be achieved from such bilateral talks, both sides of the Taiwan Strait have a responsibility to try to resolve their historical problems, including the status of Taiwan, through diplomatic and political means, said Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010, and again in 2013.
“When that [dialogue] is not happening, what happens is all the pressure goes back on to U.S.-China relations. And because U.S.-China diplomatic relations are so poor, the pressure then goes back on to the U.S. and Chinese military; and that is dangerous,” he said.
He went on to say that a war in the Taiwan Strait would undermine the peace, stability and economic prosperity of the entire region.
The New York-based former official also urged Xi and United States President Joe Biden to begin working toward “a stabilization plan” for the U.S.-China relationship at the G20 meeting scheduled for Nov. 15-16 in Bali, Indonesia, where the two are expected to meet.
According to Rudd, the next 10 years will be a “perilous” period as strategic competition between the U.S. and China continues.
Rudd proposed what he called “managed strategic competition” as a way to reduce the risk of competition escalating into conflict.
The concept requires the U.S. and China to jointly establish a framework for effective communication and draw limits on each other’s security policies and conduct.
Both sides will still compete for strategic and economic influence, but they will stop short of breaching the limits they have set out and agreed on, he said.
At the same time, they can seek ways to collaborate on certain global issues, such as combating climate change, promoting public health, and preventing nuclear proliferation, he added.
These efforts should be bilateral, Rudd said, adding that to maintain the peace, stability and prosperity of the world for future generations, everyone has to make an effort.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel