Australian senator upholds motion denying China's U.N. claim to Taiwan

SYDNEY -- Australian senator David Fawcett on Monday defended a motion he recently co-led criticizing China's attempts to claim sovereignty over Taiwan.

Fawcett said that the motion is intended to defend the regional status quo against the possibility of unilateral action by China to attempt to overtake Taiwan by force. "If we allow someone, just because they're economically strong or militarily strong, to ride roughshod over other nations, then ultimately we will all be worse off," Fawcett told Nikkei Asia.