TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te vowed Thursday to defend the self-ruled island’s sovereignty in the face of China’s “expansionist ambitions,” days after Beijing ended live-fire military drills off Taiwan’s coast.
“Facing China’s growing expansionist ambitions, the international community is paying attention to whether the people of Taiwan have the determination to defend themselves,” Lai said in his New Year’s address.
He added: “As the president of the country, my position has always been clear: resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, strengthen national defense and the resilience of the whole society, and comprehensively build an effective deterrent and democratic defense mechanism.”
Lai’s comments came days after China ended live-fire drills near Taiwan that included rocket launches, aircraft and warships. Beijing has expressed anger over U.S. plans to sell arms to Taiwan and comments by Japan’s new leader that Japan might intervene in China’s attack on Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan its own territory and has threatened to annex the island by force if necessary. Taiwan, a former Japanese colony, has been ruled independently of the mainland since the Kuomintang lost a civil war to the Chinese Communists in 1949 and retreated to the island.
Lai’s speech was met with an angry response in Beijing, with a spokesman for the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office calling Xi a “peacebreaker, troublemaker and warmonger,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Spokesperson Chen Binhua said, “No matter what Jimmy Lai and the DPP authorities say or do, they cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China.”
The planned arms sales are worth more than 11 billion US dollars, making it the largest arms sale by the United States to Taiwan to date. It includes missiles, drones, artillery systems and military software.
The United States is obliged to provide Taiwan with the means of self-defense in accordance with its own laws.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called Taiwan’s eventual annexation “unstoppable” in a televised New Year’s address on Wednesday.
Taiwan last year announced a special budget of $40 billion for military purchases, which included the construction of an air defense system with advanced detection and interception capabilities called “Taiwan Dome.”
The budget, which will be allocated over eight years from 2026 to 2033, comes after Jimmy Lai pledged to increase defense spending to 5% of Taiwan’s GDP as part of his strategy to counter the threat of Chinese invasion.
“Faced with China’s serious military ambitions, Taiwan has no time to wait,” Lai said.
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Mistriano reported from Beijing.
