After starting a brutal invasion in Ukraine, likely committing war crimes in the process, Russia has placed Taiwan on a list of countries that have been ‘unfriendly’ to them.
While this may sound like a joke, it is absolutely real and will likely have no significant impact. It is also interesting that Russia seems to be acknowledging what all rational people already know, namely that Taiwan is a country. However, being that the two countries don’t engage in much trade, Taiwan will almost certainly not even notice this outburst.
Another reason this is unlikely to make waves is the unwavering support that Taiwan seems to have for Ukraine and thus is likely prepared to weather any minor blowback such support might entail. Being that a good portion of the rest of the world is on this list and with the growing list of sanctions against Russia for its belligerence, Russia is all but certain to feel much stronger effects than Taiwan. Taiwan could even arguably stand to benefit from this stance.
Already the US has sent a delegation to Taiwan in the wake of the Russian invasion, possibly signaling a further strengthening of ties. Ukraine has also thanked Taiwan for its support and announced that it is looking forward to working together in the future. This came after Taiwan donated 27 tons of medical aid and what is now hundreds of millions of New Taiwanese dollars in financial support. While the Ukrainian statement is sufficiently vague, it could signal that Ukraine is set to follow a model similar to Lithuania, which has greatly strengthened ties with Taiwan and has yet to back down in the face of Chinese pressure.
What the future holds for all countries involved is yet to be seen. Hopefully, Ukraine will remain independent and peace will once again rule the country. Personally I would also like to see greater ties between Taiwan and the Ukraine and for Russia to see new leadership, just not a big fan of dictators and oligarchs (weird I know).
The list of countries that were ‘super freaking mean’ to Russia as per a Russian government website were “Australia, Albania, Andorra, United Kingdom, including Jersey, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, the United States, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Japan.”