The only way to ensure peace with China’s communist regime is through military force, Taiwan President William Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday (19).
He stressed that the Taiwanese people “will not submit to Chinese coercion”, highlighting the recent decision by the United States to accelerate the shipment of an arms package to the island.
Since Lai took office last month, China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, has held several military exercises around the island. Such exercises were described by Beijing as a “punishment” for Lai’s inauguration speech, which they considered a “separatist”.
At a press conference to mark one month of his presidency, Lai emphasized that the people of Taiwan “value peace.”
“But peace must be based on strength, that is, avoiding war, preparing for war to achieve peace. Empty promises are not true peace,” he said.
Lai pointed out that China’s current policy is to annex Taiwan and that, in addition to the use of force, Beijing has resorted to non-traditional coercive measures to pressure the island, which “will not give in,” he said.
These coercive measures, according to Taiwan, include excluding the country from international organizations and events, imposing bans or high taxes on certain exports to China, and “gray zone” tactics such as flying balloons over the island.
Shortly before Lai’s press conference, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that the US State Department had approved the sale of drones and missiles to Taiwan, valued at $360 million.
The United States, by law, must provide Taiwan with the means for its defense, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties, which often angers Beijing.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry expressed gratitude for US efforts to accelerate arms sales. Taiwan has repeatedly complained about delivery delays.
“The Taiwan-US special management team continues to work hard to improve the efficiency of arms sales operations between the two sides. This time, the administrative review time has been significantly reduced,” the ministry said in a statement.
Although the United States is Taiwan’s main arms supplier, Lai and her predecessor Tsai Ing-wen have prioritized strengthening domestic defense capabilities.
“Going forward, we will continue to strengthen Taiwan’s defense capabilities, not only in purchasing weapons but also in defense self-reliance,” he said.
The current president has repeatedly reiterated his willingness to engage in dialogue with China, but has so far been rejected. He argues that only the people of Taiwan can decide their future and that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are “not subordinate to each other”, a widely accepted consensus in Taiwanese society, according to him.
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