Malaysia’s Mahathir says US seeking to provoke war in Taiwan

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday accused the U.S. of trying to provoke a war in Taiwan, and in a wide-ranging interview also said he expects Malaysia’s graft-tainted ruling party to hold general elections in the coming months.

Mahathir, a two-time prime minister long known as a critic of the West and its geopolitics, warned that the U.S. was antagonizing China through recent visits to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others. China considers the self-ruled island democracy part of its territory and regards such visits as meddling in its affairs.

“China has allowed Taiwan to remain by itself. No problem. They didn’t invade. If they wanted to invade, they could have invaded. They didn’t. But America is provoking (them) so that there can be a war, so that the Chinese will make the mistake of trying to occupy Taiwan,” the 97-year-old Mahathir said.

“Then there is an excuse … for the U.S. to help Taiwan, even fight against China and sell a lot of arms to Taiwan,” he added.

Following Pelosi’s visit, China launched large-scale military drills surrounding the island and fired ballistic missiles into the sea. Beijing also warned Washington not to encourage Taiwan to try to make its de facto independence permanent, a step China says would lead to war.

In Malaysia, Mahathir said the ruling United Malays National Organization is likely preparing for snap polls that it will most likely “win big.” He believes that a number of Malay voters have returned to UMNO because they were offered money and other incentives.

“I think they will want to have the general elections this year. If possible, maybe as soon as two or three months from now, because they feel that at this moment the public still looks up at them, and the opposition is broken up, disorganized,” he told the AP.

Elections are not due until September 2023, but some UMNO members, including ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who are both fighting graft charges, have been rallying for an earlier vote.

Mahathir was an UMNO prime minister for 22 years until his retirement in 2003. He was inspired to return to politics by the massive looting of the 1MDB state fund during Najib’s term in office, and rode a wave of public anger to lead the opposition to a historic victory in 2018 polls that ousted Najib’s government.

Mahathir became the world’s oldest head of government at 93, but his reformist alliance collapsed in…