The IPAC Hague Summit concluded and peace in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea ranked as two global priorities

Japanese Representative Yoshihiko Noda. (Provided by IPAC)

The annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China Policy (IPAC) was held in The Hague, Netherlands, on the 5th and 6th. 52 cross-party MPs from 30 countries and 6 continents attended the meeting. After voting, IPAC decided to list "ensuring peace and stability in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait" and "improving resilience against China's economic coercion" as two major transnational priority actions in the coming year. The former will launch international actions to highlight the importance of the region to the security, rule of law and economic stability of various countries, while the latter advocates a "whole-of-society" approach to strengthening resilience, including promoting congressional resolutions and urging ministers and envoys to incorporate resilience into diplomatic and economic and trade exchanges.

The first day of the summit was opened by IPAC Dutch co-chairs Jan Patternotte and Tom van der Lee. They said that the unfree world envisaged by Beijing is not inevitable. Members of Congress who defend freedom have the ability to fight back. If they unite, it will be difficult to ignore. The parliamentarians then presented strategic briefings on the China challenges faced by various countries and drafted core priority areas for the year, focusing on "Geostrategy: Taiwan, Ukraine and bloc alliances" and "China Exports and Dependence."

In the expert briefing, Exiger Chief Strategy Officer Kit Conklin analyzed "China Shock 2.0", saying that China's state-sponsored trade fraud threatens millions of jobs around the world. Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela, spokesperson of the Philippine Coast Guard, pointed out that the Chinese Coast Guard has not only invaded the West Philippine Sea, but also appeared in the Nankang Shoal of Malaysia, the Natuna Islands of Indonesia, and the Paracel waters of Vietnam. The neighboring countries just choose not to disclose it. "Quiet diplomacy is not diplomacy." Silence will only strengthen the bully. The Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration, Penpa Tsering, asked who should be blamed if he continued to feed the dragon even though he knew it was biting people?

Taiwan Representative Office holds banquet Noda Yoshihiko: The crisis in the Taiwan Strait continues to escalate

The afternoon agenda of the first day focused on peace and collective deterrence across the Taiwan Strait. Former Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans, former Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, and former Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė shared the stage to discuss common defense weaknesses and the reality of deterring China. A banquet was hosted by the Taiwan Representative Office in the Netherlands that night, and representatives Tanaka Hikaru and former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda delivered speeches. Noda said that the level of crisis in the Taiwan Strait continues to rise, and Japan seizes every opportunity to emphasize the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait to countries including China, and calls for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.

On the day after the summit, Safeguard Defenders released a new report "The Suppression Equation" stating that "overseas Chinese police stations" are still expanding rapidly under Xi Jinping's direct request, and the core is a network of United Front organizations around the world. Laura Harth, the organization's program director, said Beijing uses constantly changing names and symbols to disguise its interference, and democracies should not be distracted by word games. Accordingly, 54 IPAC members from 26 countries proposed 6 emergency measures, demanding an end to China's interference and transnational suppression.

The summit also awarded the 2nd "Jiqin Courage Award for Defending Democracy" to Zimbabwean MP Fortune Daniel Molokele in recognition of his persistence in speaking out in the face of pressure from China. Luke de Pulford, CEO of IPAC, said that these politicians disagree on almost everything, but they all agree on the China issue. IPAC currently has 45 countries and 325 members participating. This is the 6th annual meeting. It was previously held in Rome, Washington, Prague, Taipei and Brussels.

The annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China Policy (IPAC) was held in The Hague, Netherlands, on the 5th and 6th. 52 cross-party MPs from 30 countries and 6 continents attended the meeting. (Provided by IPAC)