Taiwan expert urges Ukraine to apologize over China arms transfers

A Taiwan security expert has called on Ukraine to apologize for past transfers of military equipment and advanced technologies to China, following recent remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that criticized the flow of Taiwanese electronic components into Russia’s military industry.

Mei Fu-hsing, director of the Taiwan Strait Security Research Center and a U.S.-based analyst, made the statement in a public social media post, arguing that Kyiv should address its own historical role in strengthening China’s military capabilities. His comments came days after Zelenskyy publicly named Taiwan as one of the sources of electronic components that have ended up in Russia’s defense production chain.

Zelenskyy made the remarks on Jan. 22 during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he criticized European partners for internal divisions and said the international community had failed to stop companies from supplying critical components to Russia. During the address, he specifically mentioned the continued flow of electronic parts, including those originating from Taiwan, into Russia’s military-industrial system.

In response, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said that Taipei was willing to strengthen controls on goods routed through third countries and disguised end-use channels to prevent sensitive components from reaching Russia, adding that the measures were intended to protect Ukraine.

Mei said Lai’s response was appropriate but incomplete. In his statement, he wrote that Taiwan should also “strongly demand that Ukraine apologize for nearly unlimited, and even bottomless, supply of military equipment and advanced key military technologies to Beijing over the past 30 years, which helped the Chinese Communist Party become a serious military threat to Indo-Pacific regional security.”

He added that Ukraine should provide assurances and “immediately take concrete corrective measures” to address the consequences of those past transfers.

The comments reflect long-standing criticism among some Taiwanese defense analysts regarding Ukraine’s role in China’s military modernization in the 1990s and early 2000s. During that period, Ukrainian firms transferred a range of military-related technologies to China, including aircraft engines, naval systems, and other dual-use capabilities, as Ukraine sought export revenue following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Taiwanese officials have not formally echoed Mei’s call for an apology, and the government has not announced any change in its public position toward Ukraine. Taipei has consistently expressed support for Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and has introduced multiple rounds of export controls to prevent sensitive technologies from reaching Russia.

Zelenskyy’s comments at Davos have drawn attention in Taiwan because the island has tightened export controls on advanced semiconductors and electronics, particularly those that could be diverted to military use. Taiwanese authorities have acknowledged that third-country transshipment remains a challenge, especially through complex supply chains involving intermediaries in other regions.

The issue also highlights broader tensions around global supply chain enforcement as the United States and its partners seek to limit Russia’s access to components used in missiles, drones, and other weapons. Taiwan is a central player in the global electronics industry, making its export control policies closely watched by both Washington and its allies.

Mei’s statement frames the dispute in wider strategic terms, linking Ukraine’s historical arms exports to China with current security concerns in the Indo-Pacific. He argued that China’s present military posture toward Taiwan and regional U.S. allies cannot be separated from earlier technology transfers that supported Beijing’s defense development.