Taiwan has not been intimidated by China’s military drills this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, while a senior US official denounced the latest Chinese maneuvers as “coercion” and a threat to regional stability.
Tsai said Taiwan was resolute in its defense.
“China’s armed forces yesterday [Monday] sent a large number of military aircraft and naval vessels into our vicinity. Their actions threaten Taiwan and other like-minded countries in the region,” Tsai said at a forum cohosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to mark the 40th anniversary of the US’ Taiwan Relations Act.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The event was attended by a delegation led by former US House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan.
“These actions only serve to strengthen our resolve. Our military forces have the capacity, determination and commitment to defend Taiwan and not allow coercion to dictate our own future,” Tsai said.
She also said that US President Donald Trump’s administration had notified Taipei that its pilots could continue training at the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
“It enhances their abilities to defend our airspace. I want to express my appreciation to the US government for the announcement,” she said.
Taiwan scrambled jets and ships to monitor the Chinese forces on Monday, the Ministry of National Defense said, accusing Beijing of “trying to change the ‘status quo’ of the Taiwan Strait.”
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said that Taipei was seeking to “slander” China and mislead the public with its criticism of the exercises to provoke confrontation.
“No person or any force should underestimate our firm determination and strong ability to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said.
The People’s Liberation Army Daily said the goal of the drills was to practice a “combined firepower assault” that included electronic jamming from aircraft under the protection of fighter jets.
Bombers “screamed” toward the area and carried out “sudden attacks,” while warships occupied assault positions and conducted attacks on enemy fire points, the official paper of China’s military said.
Landing forces reached specified waters, which were circled by helicopters at low altitude.
The paper cited a Chinese military representative as saying the exercises were held annually and “completely within the normal legal rights of a sovereign country.”
China has repeatedly carried out what it calls “island encirclement patrols” in the past few years.
Ryan said that the US considered any military threat to Taiwan a concern and urged China to stop, saying it was counterproductive.
“I urge Beijing to choose the path of peace, respect, and civility by resuming dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected administration,” he said.
Tsai said she wants to maintain the “status quo” with China, but would defend Taiwan’s security and democracy.
The visit by US officials comes weeks after Tsai said the US was responding positively to Taipei’s requests for new arms sales to bolster its defenses in the face of growing pressure from China.
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS