Reuters news agency reported that today, Mr. Ngo Chieu Tiep (Joseph Wu), Taiwan’s top diplomat, has confirmed that the island will fight to the end. if attacked by China .
China has always considered Taiwan Island a part of its territory and is ready to use force to unify the land if necessary. In recent months, Taipei has regularly recorded Beijing’s military activities near the island, with Chinese military aircraft entering and leaving Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Area (ADIZ) as the show. out almost every day.
Earlier this week, the Chinese side confirmed that an aircraft carrier strike group was conducting exercises near the island of Taiwan.
In response to the press, Wu said the United States had recognized the risk of Beijing launching an attack against Taiwan – in the context of China’s increasing military pressure, including the above exercises carrier, near the Taiwan Strait area.
“We are ready to defend ourselves and will fight if we need to. And if we need to fight to defend ourselves, we will fight to the end,” said Ngo.
The US – Taiwan’s arms supplier and supporter – has been pushing Taipei to modernize its defenses to become a tough hedgehog under Chinese pressure.
Ngo said the island is determined to improve its military capabilities and spend more on defense: “The defense of Taiwan is our responsibility. We will try to do everything we can to improve it. improve your defense “.
The Taiwan Defense Agency recently said it will hold an eight-day exercise this month; This exercise is intended to simulate the scenario of China attacking the island. This is the first phase in Taiwan’s largest annual exercise – the Han Guang exercise.
The second phase of the exercise, which includes the firing of live ammunition, will take place in July. Reuters said about 8,000 reserve troops will be mobilized to participate in the second phase of the exercise.
The vast improvements in China’s military capabilities and its increasing activity around Taiwan have raised concerns in the US, which is legally bound to ensure Taiwan is capable of defending itself and to regard all threats to the island’s security as matters of “grave concern.”
China’s military said on Monday the new naval drills were meant to help it “safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests,” terms often interpreted as being directed at Taiwan’s leadership that has refused to give in to Beijing’s demands that it recognize the island as part of Chinese territory.
Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, and most Taiwanese favour maintaining the current state of de facto independence while engaging in robust economic exchanges with the mainland.
China has created conditions for greater economic integration, while also targeting some communities such as pineapple farmers in hopes of weakening their support for the island’s government.
Chinese diplomatic pressure has been growing also, reducing the number of Taiwan’s formal diplomatic allies to just 15 and shutting its representatives out of the World Health Assembly and other major international forums.
Taiwan has responded by boosting its high-tech industries and unofficial foreign relations, particularly with its key partners the US, Japan and others, and by building up its own defense industries, including a submarine development program, while buying upgraded warplanes, missiles and other military hardware from the US
Meanwhile, the US Navy says the carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group re-entered the South China Sea on Saturday to “conduct routine operations.” It is the second time the strike group has entered the waterway this year as part of its 2021 deployment to the US 7th Fleet area of operations.
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