EU envoy in Taiwan emphasizes cooperation against hybrid threats

Lutz Guellner draws parallels on disinformation, subsea cable risks

2023-07-06T110352Z_1571441862_RC2VG0A4XW5B_RTRMADP_3_US-CHINA-TECH-SUBCOM.JPG

A cable-laying ship, the CS Dependable, at a port in Taichung, Taiwan. The European Union's top envoy to Taipei says that when it comes to threats to maritime infrastructure, "we see a lot of parallels between what happened in the Baltic Sea and around Taiwan." © Reuters

THOMPSON CHAU

July 2, 2025 15:31 JST

TAIPEI -- Taiwan and Europe are natural partners in protecting underwater cables and countering hybrid warfare, the European Union's top envoy in Taipei said, as both seek to shore up economic security and resilience against external threats.

"Security is not just military security or just the weapons, because so many things can be weaponized. Hybrid threats go hand in hand with military aggression," Brussels' top diplomat in Asia's chips powerhouse warned in an exclusive interview with Nikkei Asia. Disinformation, infiltration, destabilization and other aspects are part and parcel of warfare, he added.