Britain’s Defence Minister, the largely and justifiably unknown John Healey, has made an extraordinary threat to go to war with China over the question of Taiwan, an island province that Britain legally recognises – not least according to the bilateral agreement concluded in 1972 between the two countries that elevated their diplomatic relations to ambassadorial level – as part of China.
Speaking on board the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, after it had docked in the north Australian port of Darwin, where it is to join the United States and other countries in the warmongering Talisman Sabre exercises largely aimed at China, Healey was asked by the right wing Telegraph newspaper, “what the UK is doing to help countries like Taiwan to prepare for potential escalation from China, Mr Healey said: ‘If we have to fight, as we have done in the past, Australia and the UK are nations that will fight together. We exercise together and by exercising together and being more ready to fight, we deter better together.’”
The HMS Prince of Wales is on a nine-month deployment to the Pacific region and is widely expected to sail through the Taiwan Strait around upcoming visits to Japan and South Korea. Already, the Royal Navy provocatively sailed the HMS Spey warship through China’s Taiwan Strait on June 18. It was the first such incident in four years.
Never one to miss out on a free trip, David Lammy, Britain’s equally preposterous Foreign Secretary, accompanied Healey. He has previously said that the UK plans to conduct more so-called “freedom of navigation operations” in the Taiwan Strait.
Further underlining the gravity of the situation, the Labour supporting Mirror newspaper noted:
“In April, Keir Starmer met the crew onboard HMS Prince of Wales during an overnight stay ahead of their voyage. The PM said the mission showed the UK’s ‘leadership on global issues and security and defence’.
“‘We all know that the world is more uncertain than it felt a few months or years before – we’re in a new era,’ Mr Starmer said at the time. ‘We are sending a clear message of strength to our adversaries, and a message of unity and purpose to our allies.’”
As with most, if not all, members of the current British government, it is difficult to fathom whether Healey’s outburst represents blood-curdling bellicosity, strategic myopia, rank ignorance and stupidity, gross irresponsibility, or just plain inexperience. However, the smart money is likely to be on any combination of all of the above.
In an editorial response, the Morning Star noted that: “British troops will be engaged in provocative manoeuvres viewed by Beijing as part of Washington’s bid to encircle it militarily. That is itself part of a wider US strategy to derail China’s rise… That is the overarching war game in which Operation Talisman Sabre takes place. Britain should have no part in it.”
China’s Global Times was more hard-hitting, noting that: “Chinese observers slammed the blatant remarks over China’s internal affair, saying it was a show of residual British colonial mentality.”
It added: “Observers also pointed out that, amid warming China-Australia relations highlighted by the Australian Prime Minister’s successful July visit to China, the British defence official’s remarks attempt to place Canberra in a difficult position. Full alignment with the UK and the US is not a wise choice.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London was direct and to the point:
“If the said report is true, I am sure the UK official will regret having said that. China will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China in any way. Nor will China allow any external forces, the UK and Australia included, to undermine our efforts for complete reunification.”
Earlier, on July 25, the spokesperson responded to Foreign Secretary Lammy and Yvette Cooper, the tinpot totalitarian Home Secretary, having issued a joint statement making unwarranted comments on the law enforcement action taken by the Hong Kong SAR police against anti-China disruptors who have fled abroad:
“Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong, and Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs. China urges the UK to abandon its colonial mentality, stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, cease meddling in China’s internal affairs, stop shielding criminals, and refrain from going further down the wrong path.”
Prior to Healey’s outburst, on 25 July 2025, the Chinese Embassy in the UK held a reception celebrating the 98th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army of China. Ambassador Zheng Zeguang pointed out in his speech that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the recovery of Taiwan. Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China’s territory since ancient times. Both the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, issued by major victorious nations of WWII, including China and the UK, stated in explicit terms that Taiwan is a territory that Japan had stolen from the Chinese, and shall be restored to China. All these instruments have confirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan and formed an important part of the post-WWII international order.
The Ambassador further emphasised that the Chinese people and their armed forces will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China in any way. Nor will they allow any external forces to undermine their efforts for complete reunification. All countries having diplomatic ties with China must properly handle Taiwan-related issues, which is key to the smooth development of bilateral relations with China.
Zheng Zeguang also noted that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. More than 80 years ago, the peoples of China and the UK fought valiantly against fascist aggression on the main Eastern Front and the European battlefield, making enormous contributions to the global victory against fascism. China’s fight was the earliest to begin, and the longest-lasting. The Chinese people suffered the most significant human and material losses before ultimately defeating Japanese aggressors.
Ambassador Zheng emphasised that it should never be forgotten that China and the UK were allies and fought shoulder to shoulder during the war. That part of history has left behind many touching stories of solidarity and mutual support in the flames of war. In 1942, Chinese fishermen from Zhoushan risked their own lives under Japanese gunfire to save 384 British prisoners of war on board Lisbon Maru, which was mistakenly torpedoed by a US submarine. Also in 1942, the Chinese Expeditionary Force successfully rescued British troops besieged by the Japanese army in Myanmar. In 1938, George Hogg, a young Briton, travelled thousands of miles to China, where he established schools, aided orphaned children and gave his life for the Chinese people’s righteous cause. We should remember history, honour those fallen heroes, cherish peace and strive for a better future.
The reception was attended by nearly 300 guests.
In characteristically pugilistic terms, George Galloway responded to Healey in his MOATS (Mother of all Talk Shows) broadcast.
Denouncing his remarks as madness, George noted that Britain, a bankrupt and broken country that has given billions to the ‘thief of Kiev’ and spends millions on reconnaissance flights to facilitate the Gaza genocide, was now threatening China with war. Referring to the 1949 Amethyst Incident, George recalled that the last time Britain had ‘sailed a gunboat up the Yangzi [river]’, the Chinese had sunk it. And China is now a far more powerful country than it was 76 years ago.
Noting the contempt shown for democracy, as highlighted by the fact that Britain’s rubber stamp parliament had not even been consulted or informed, George addressed Healey: “You little runt are threatening China with war.” A man who had never heard a shot fired in anger in his miserable life was threatening a war to be waged at the expense of the British people “and with the blood of your sons and daughters.”
It might just be added that, coincidentally or otherwise, Healey spoke on the 72nd anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Agreement in Korea. During that 1950-53 conflict, British forces were soundly beaten by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army, fighting together with their Korean allies, suffering more than 1,100 fatalities and more than 2,500 wounded. In one of the most humiliating defeats ever suffered by the British military in history, the so-called ‘Glorious Glosters’ were virtually annihilated by a Chinese army that came in like “a swollen wave…. breaking on the shore” in the words of the late Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley who served as a captain in the battle. Of some 550 troops, only some 40 managed to escape with the rest smashing their weapons and ignominiously surrendering to the Chinese forces.
The following articles were originally published by the Morning Star and Global Times and on the website of the Chinese Embassy in London. We also embed below George Galloway’s clip from Instagram.
Why Britain should not be rattling sabres at China over Taiwan
July 28 (Morning Star) — “WW3 fears explode as Britain vows to fight China over Taiwan,” a breathless headline in the Express informs us.
The tabloid press is known for sensationalism. But this story we should take seriously.
Defence Secretary John Healey’s suggestion that Britain is readying for war in the Pacific was delivered from the HMS Prince of Wales, an aircraft carrier preparing for the biggest war games ever hosted by Australia, Operation Talisman Sabre 2025. The ship will “likely operate near Taiwan” as it sails from Australia to Japan, the UK Defence Journal briefs, as part of wider US-led exercises.
British troops will be engaged in provocative manoeuvres viewed by Beijing as part of Washington’s bid to encircle it militarily. That is itself part of a wider US strategy to derail China’s rise.
Because China is the US’s only “peer competitor” (the Pentagon’s words) and their rivalry is global, this is the factor in international politics most likely to lead to another world war. And Washington is the aggressor: it is not China seeking to stop other countries trading with the US, or dispatching warships to patrol the American (or British) coasts.
A serving US air force commander, General Mike Minihan, said two years ago that a US-China war would erupt this year, 2025. The risk is real.
This context is crucial when we consider Healey’s sabre-rattling. The propaganda version is that Britain is concerned to defend Taiwan from Chinese aggression, but that isn’t true.
Taiwan’s status is the first contradiction. It is universally recognised as part of China diplomatically. All countries that recognise the People’s Republic of China, including Britain and the United States, recognise its sovereignty over the island of Taiwan; those which recognise the Taiwanese government do so on the basis that it is the Republic of China, heir to the pre-1949 Chinese regime driven off the mainland by communist revolution. Why is Healey threatening war with China over territory Britain recognises as Chinese?
For some, diplomatic formalities are less important than support for the Taiwanese people’s supposed desire for independence.
This underrates the extent to which Taiwan is being used as a pawn by the US, and paints a misleading picture of the island as a plucky democracy united in fear of its communist neighbour.
The recent — failed — bid by Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te to force the removal of 24 opposition MPs as “pro-China” voices, intended to end the opposition’s control of parliament, shows a more complex reality.
The opposition Kuomintang — the party that ruled China before 1949 — is not pro-communist, but enjoys the support of the huge section of Taiwanese society which regards friendly relations with the mainland as preferable to a conflict being whipped up in Washington’s interests.
Since Beijing sees reunification as part of the decolonisation of China, with Taiwan having been seized by Japan during the “century of humiliation” and returned to China in 1945, it opposes Taiwanese independence: but so do millions on Taiwan, and Lai’s attempt to make identification with China suspect is bitterly contested.
Beijing has in any case pursued a peaceful unification strategy based on cross-strait economic integration, which is far advanced despite a recent push by Taipei to restrict activity by mainland companies and deter Taiwanese from flocking to the mainland for work and study.
The US has long funded Taiwanese separatist and anti-communist projects, from the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy to Taiwan-based agencies focused on undermining mainland Chinese authorities such as the China Dissent Monitor.
Conflict over Taiwan is only likely if provoked by a US-backed bid to change the status quo: and nobody should imagine Washington’s motivation would be to protect the people of the island. The whole point would be to provoke China, and war.
That is the overarching war game in which Operation Talisman Sabre takes place. Britain should have no part in it.
British defense secretary reportedly boasts readiness to ‘fight in conflict over Taiwan;’ experts slam remarks as showing UK’s residual colonial mentality
July 28 (Global Times) — In a highly provocative tone, Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey has boasted the UK’s readiness to engage in a fight in the Pacific if conflict breaks out over the island of Taiwan, according to the Telegraph on Sunday, while the report described such remarks as the most robust from a British representative on the subject of possible engagement in a future war in the region.
Chinese observers slammed the blatant remarks over China’s internal affair, saying it was a show of residual British colonial mentality.
Healey made the remarks on Sunday, according to the report, when he was speaking aboard the HMS Prince of Wales alongside Richard Marles, Australia’s deputy prime minister, as the ship docked in Darwin to join military exercises with allies, including the US.
Healey was asked by The Telegraph what the UK is doing to help the island of Taiwan “prepare for potential escalation from China.” He was quoted as saying: “If we have to fight, as we have done in the past, Australia and the UK are nations that will fight together. We exercise together and by exercising together and being more ready to fight, we deter better together.”
However, Healey later said he was speaking in “general terms”, and said the UK would prefer to see any disputes in the Indo-Pacific resolved “peacefully” and “diplomatically.”
When asked whether the UK may engage more formally with Taiwan region, Healey reportedly said: “There’s no change in the UK’s approach to Taiwan.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has repeatedly made clear its position that the Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair and brooks no external interference. China will absolutely not allow any person or any force to separate Taiwan from China in any way and will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Zhang Junshe, a military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Monday that the British defense chief’s remarks are merely a manifestation of the UK’s embarrassing pledge of loyalty to its allies.
The HMS Prince of Wales carrier group sailed with advanced F-35 fighter jets from Singapore to northern Australia for the first time since 1997, and will continue toward Japan, where it is likely to pass close to Taiwan, according to the Telegraph.
As part of its National Security Strategy published earlier this year, the UK Government recognized that “there is a particular risk of escalation around Taiwan,” the report said, while noting that the decision to send the HMS Prince of Wales, which is the UK’s largest strike carrier group, on a nine-month deployment through the Pacific is indicative of the UK’s awareness of this rising threat level.
Some politicians of Western countries are eager to stir up trouble, fabricating the “China threat” narrative and inciting opposition to China in the region, a practice that is highly toxic, with which China should always stay alert, Zhang said.
Also, according to the UK Defence Journal, while the UK has stopped short of adopting the US’ policy of “strategic ambiguity,” Healey’s remarks underscore the extent to which Britain is reinforcing its “Indo-Pacific commitments under the Integrated Review and AUKUS frameworks.”
Chen Hong, a professor and director of the Australian Studies Centre at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Monday that it was yet another example of residual British colonial mentality.
Observers also pointed out that, amid warming China-Australia relations highlighted by the Australian Prime Minister’s successful July visit to China, the British defense official’s remarks attempt to place Canberra in a difficult position. Full alignment with the UK and the US is not a wise choice, Chen noted.
Embassy Spokesperson on Erroneous Remarks from UK Official on Taiwan
July 28 (Chinese Embassy in Britain)
Question: According to a report by The Telegraph, the UK Defence Secretary claimed when asked by The Telegraph about questions on Taiwan, “If we have to fight, as we have done in the past, Australia and the UK are nations that will fight together.” What is the Embassy’s comment?
Embassy Spokesperson: If the said report is true, I am sure the UK official will regret having said that. China will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China in any way. Nor will China allow any external forces, the UK and Australia included, to undermine our efforts for complete reunification.
Embassy Spokesperson on UK’s Erroneous Remarks on Hong Kong
July 25 (Chinese Embassy in Britain)
Question: On 25 July, the UK Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary issued a joint statement making unwarranted comments on the law enforcement action taken by the Hong Kong SAR police against anti-China disruptors who have fled abroad. What is the Embassy’s comment on this?
Embassy Spokesperson: The relevant remarks by UK officials constitute a gross interference in China’s internal affairs and the rule of law in the Hong Kong SAR. China firmly opposes such remarks.
The anti-China disruptors in question initiated illegal election activities for a so-called “Hong Kong Parliament” with the aim of subverting state power. Such an outrageous move seriously violated the Hong Kong National Security Law, severely challenged the bottom line of the One Country, Two Systems principle, and gravely endangered China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests.
The Hong Kong police’s lawful issuance of arrest warrants for those anti-China disruptors is an act of justice in upholding the rule of law in Hong Kong, a necessary measure to safeguard national sovereignty and security, and a legitimate step to ensure long-term stability and prosperity in Hong Kong. It is consistent with international law and common international practices.
Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong, and Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs. China urges the UK to abandon its colonial mentality, stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, cease meddling in China’s internal affairs, stop shielding criminals, and refrain from going further down the wrong path.
Ambassador Zheng Zeguang: We Will Never Allow Anyone to Separate Taiwan from China in Any Way
July 26 (Chinese Embassy in Britain) — On 25 July 2025, the Chinese Embassy in the UK held a reception celebrating the 98th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army of China. Chinese Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang pointed out in his speech that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the recovery of Taiwan. Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China’s territory since ancient times. Both the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, issued by major victorious nations of WWII including China and the UK, stated in explicit terms that Taiwan is a territory that Japan had stolen from the Chinese, and shall be restored to China. All these instruments have confirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan, and formed an important part of the post-WWII international order. In 1971, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 with an overwhelming majority. It decides to restore all the lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China at the UN and expel forthwith the representatives of the Taiwan authorities from the UN and all the organisations related to it. The resolution resolved, once and for all, the issue of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the UN, and precluded any possibility of creating “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”
Ambassador Zheng emphasised that the Chinese people and their armed forces will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China in any way. Nor will they allow any external forces to undermine their efforts for complete reunification. All countries having diplomatic ties with China must properly handle Taiwan-related issues, which is key to the smooth development of bilateral relations with China.
Ambassador Zheng Zeguang: Remember History, Honour the Fallen, Cherish Peace and Strive for a Better Future
July 26 (Chinese Embassy in Britain) — On 25 July 2025, the Chinese Embassy in the UK held a reception celebrating the 98th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army of China. Chinese Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang pointed out in his speech that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. More than 80 years ago, the peoples of China and the UK fought valiantly against fascist aggression on the main Eastern Front and the European battlefield, making enormous contributions to the global victory against fascism. China’s fight was the earliest to begin, and the longest-lasting. The Chinese people suffered the most significant human and material losses before ultimately defeating Japanese aggressors.
Ambassador Zheng emphasised that it should never be forgotten that China and the UK were allies and fought shoulder to shoulder during the war. That part of history has left behind many touching stories of solidarity ad mutual support in the flames of war. In 1942, Chinese fishermen from Zhoushan risked their own lives under Japanese gunfire to save 384 British prisoners of war on board Lisbon Maru, which was mistakenly torpedoed by a US submarine. Also in 1942, the Chinese Expeditionary Force successfully rescued British troops besieged by the Japanese army in Myanmar. In 1938, George Hogg, a young Briton, travelled thousands of miles to China, where he established schools, aided orphaned children and gave his life for the Chinese people’s righteous cause. We should remember history, honour those fallen heroes, cherish peace and strive for a better future. This is why China of holding a series of important commemorative events to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
Ambassador Zheng noted that this year also marks the 80th anniversary of the United Nation. Profound changes are unfolding in the world. Geopolitical conflicts are rampant. Unilateralism and bullying keep re-emerging. Multilateral mechanisms are facing grave challenges. Humanity has once again come to a critical crossroads. Against this backdrop, all countries must resolutely defend the outcomes of the victory of WWII, firmly uphold true multilateralism and steadfastly safeguard world peace, stability, fairness and justice. China is committed to peaceful development and stands ready to work with all countries to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilisation Initiative, and build a community with a shared future for humanity.
The British defence secretary should be fired now!
Having lived in the UK all of my life I have seen so many stupid politicians making asinine statements on behalf of the electorate. The description ” the largely and justifiably unknown John Healey” is an absolutely accurate description of another stuffed shirt politician. Why is Taiwan of any interest to the British Government?