Taiwan vows to defend itself after China military drill
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said he was determined to defend the island’s sovereignty and strengthen its defense in the face of China’s increasing expansion after Beijing fired rockets at the island as part of military exercises.
The international community is watching to see whether the Taiwanese people have the determination to defend themselves, Lai said in his New Year’s speech broadcast live from the presidential office in Taipei.
Lai called on opposition parties to support Taiwan’s proposal to increase defense spending by US$40 billion ($60 billion); This proposal is currently stuck with other proposals in political stalemate in the opposition-controlled parliament.
“Whether China can achieve its goals on time is another thing,” Lai said Thursday when asked about a U.S. report that said China was poised to have the capacity to win a fight for Taiwan by 2027.
“The next year 2026 will be very important for Taiwan,” he said, adding that Taiwan “needs to plan for the worst but hope for the best.”
China claims to democratically govern Taiwan as its own territory and does not rule out using force to bring it under Chinese control. Taiwan denies China’s claims.
Lai’s speech came just two days after a Chinese exercise called Justice Mission 2025.
China has fired dozens of rockets at Taiwan and deployed several warships and aircraft near the island; This show of force raised concerns from Western allies, including the European Commission and the United Kingdom.
Taipei condemned the drills as a threat to regional security and a blatant provocation.
Beijing announced late Wednesday that it had completed the drills and said it would continue to strengthen its military’s combat readiness.
In response, Taiwan’s defense ministry said its armed forces would maintain “an appropriate emergency mechanism” as there were still a significant number of Chinese aircraft and ships in the response area. He did not give a detailed explanation.
“The aggressive and militaristic provocations of the Chinese Communist Party endanger regional security and stability and have been condemned by democratic allies in the international community,” the statement said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a familiar tone towards Taiwan in his New Year’s speech shortly after Beijing’s announcement, repeating last year’s warning of what he viewed as forces seeking Taiwan independence.
“Citizens on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are connected by ties of blood tighter than water, and the historical trend towards national reunification is unstoppable,” he said in a televised speech by state broadcaster CCTV.
A Taiwanese coast guard official told Reuters that all 11 Chinese coast guard ships have left waters near Taiwan and continue to drift away.
There are more than 90 Chinese naval and coast guard ships in the area, most of them deployed near the South China Sea, Taiwan and the East China Sea, two security officials in the region told Reuters earlier.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Wednesday that 77 Chinese military aircraft and 25 navy and coast guard ships had operated around the island in the past 24 hours.
Among them, it was stated that 35 military aircraft crossed the middle line of the Taiwan Strait separating the two sides.
As the war games unfolded, United States Ambassador to China David Perdue posted a photo of himself with the ambassadors of the Quad countries, a group that includes the United States, Australia, Japan and India, on social media platform X.
In the post, he called the Quad a “force for good” working to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific, but gave no details about what was discussed at the meeting or when it took place.
