Israel-Lebanon war: Why are Israel and Taiwan close allies?
Joseph Massad | 26 September 2024 | Middle East Eye
▻https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-lebanon-war-why-are-israel-and-taiwan-close-allies
The possible role of Taiwan in Israel’s pager attack is only the latest in a long history of military relations between the two settler-colonial states
A Taiwanese pager company was identified last week in connection to Israel’s terrorist attack on Lebanon, in which booby-trapped pagers were detonated, killing at least 32 people and injuring thousands more.
The possible role of Taiwan in these deadly explosions is only the latest in a long history of military relations and collaboration between the two settler-colonial states, which goes back for at least half a century.
In the 1970s, when Israel, apartheid South Africa, and Taiwan were dubbed “pariah states”, their alliance and cooperation in weapons trade was a major focus of their friendship.
The Kuomintang (KMT) regime in Taiwan, and before that in China, had been friendly to Zionism since World War One and supported the Balfour Declaration.
Israeli-Taiwanese relations warmed considerably after Israel launched its genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza last October. (...)