In the conflict between Israel and Iran, the roles of China and Russia have been especially prominent. Iran’s significant military technology and crucial military industrial raw materials now rely on imports from China. China is also clearly showing support for Palestine in its foreign relations, even announcing the removal of Hamas from China’s list of terrorist organizations.
In response, some in Israel have suggested playing the Taiwan card. Indeed, the relationship between Israel and Taiwan is growing increasingly close, with frequent underground transactions in military and technology industries. Will Israel choose Taiwan over China politically in the future? Will Israel establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan?
Guo Jun, the chief editor of the Chinese Epoch Times newspaper, stated in the New Tang Dynasty “Elite Forum” program that Iran is currently the biggest problem for Israel. Iran, and the organizations and countries it supports, pose the real threat behind the scenes. Behind Iran stands China, especially in terms of economic support, military technology, and the supply chain of various weapons’ components. Iran does not recognize the existence of Israel; its goal, as declared by the Iranian president, is to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Iran is now Israel’s biggest and most dangerous enemy.
On the other hand, international politics is very pragmatic. Israel certainly does not want to sour relations with China, so it still maintains a broad relationship on the surface. However, it is clear that various exchanges between the Israeli government and China have begun to change. In 2023, under the auspices of the United States, a military technology alliance was formed among Israel, Taiwan, and the United States. The U.S. Congress passed the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) Act for Taiwan. The U.S. hopes that Taiwan can emulate Israel, so the quasi-military relationship between Israel and Taiwan is bound to escalate.
Guo Jun mentioned that the FMF Act is aimed at helping a country establish its own military industry by providing direct funding for investment in domestic military industries. Currently, only Israel receives FMF treatment worldwide, while other countries do not. By granting Taiwan FMF, the U.S. aims to enable Taiwan to establish its military industry. Taiwan already has a relatively complete military-industrial system, but enhancing and perfecting it is crucial, especially in terms of integrating with the U.S. system, particularly in weapon informatization and artificial intelligence. Israel has valuable experience in this area, which is why the U.S. is pulling Israel and Taiwan into a cooperative mechanism. With less concern about China, Israel will no longer consider the military alliance formed by China and Iran.
Guo Jun added that China primarily followed the Soviet policy in its early days, but later gained support from many Arab countries in the United Nations. When China joined the UN in 1971, it was as a result of what was internally referred to as the “Two A Proposal,” where Albania and Algeria—Arab countries from North Africa—proposed China to replace Taiwan as a UN member representing China. Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, claimed that African brothers escorted China into the UN, referring to this chain of events.
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