Beijing’s expected use of President William Lai’s (賴清德) Double Ten National Day speech tomorrow as a pretext for provocative measures would undermine peace and stability, the US Department of State said yesterday.
Taiwanese officials have said that China is likely to launch military drills near Taiwan in response to Lai's speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims.
A US state department spokesperson said they could not speculate on what China would or would not do.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
"However, it is worth emphasizing that using routine annual celebrations or public remarks as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive measures undermines peace and stability," the spokesperson said.
China late yesterday accused Lai of escalating tensions with "sinister intentions" in a speech he made over the weekend at an event to mark tomorrow’s Double Ten National Day.
Lai said that it is "impossible" for the People's Republic of China (PRC) to become Taiwan's motherland because the Republic of China has older political roots.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office said he was confusing right from wrong.
Lai's “Taiwan independence fallacy is just old wine in a new bottle, and again exposes his obstinate stance on Taiwan independence and his sinister intentions of escalating hostility and confrontation," it said.
The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday said it was an objective fact that since 1949, the PRC has never ruled Taiwan.
"The Taiwan Affairs Office's remarks have made Taiwan's people see clearly that the Chinese communists regard themselves as the sole legitimate government of China and simply do not allow any room for the survival of the Republic of China," it said.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense today also reiterated its objections to US weapons sales to Taiwan, after the administration of US President Joe Biden approved US$567 million in further defense support.
"What needs stressing is that arming Taiwan is encouraging Taiwan independence, and Taiwan independence means war," the ministry said, echoing previous language it has used.
The Ministry of National Defense told Reuters in a statement that China has been using various reasons to "legitimize its targeted military drills."
"We continue to monitor and analyze the training dynamics of the Chinese communists around the Taiwan Strait in order to anticipate the situation," the ministry said.
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