Taipei:
Taiwan’s new president said on Sunday he was still ready to work with China despite this week’s military exercises around the autonomous island.
Three days after Lai Ching-te took office, Chinese warships and fighter jets surrounded Taiwan in exercises that China said were a test of its ability to seize the island.
During the two-day exercises, China promised that the “independence forces” would be left “with their heads broken and their blood flowing.”
Lai told reporters on Sunday that he wants Taiwan and China to “jointly shoulder the important responsibility of regional stability.”
“I also hope to enhance mutual understanding and reconciliation through exchanges and cooperation with China… and move towards a position of peace and common prosperity,” he said at an event in Taipei.
Communications between China and Taiwan were disrupted in 2016 after the inauguration of former President Tsai Ing-wen, who pledged to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Lai, who comes from the same Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as Tsai, promised to maintain her policies of building Taiwan’s defense capabilities, remaining open to dialogue with China and strengthening relations with the island’s partners – particularly the United States. United.
But China said Lai’s inaugural speech on Monday amounted to calls for independence, “pushing our compatriots in Taiwan into a dangerous situation of war and danger.”
“Every time ‘Taiwan independence’ provokes us, we will take our countermeasures one step further, until the complete reunification of the motherland is achieved,” Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said on Friday.
Wen-Ti Sung, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told AFP that Lai would “stand firm on the resolution of the project” following this first interaction between his administration and Beijing.
“However, he will no doubt look to leverage other international partners and friends to help facilitate more back-channel communications with Beijing,” Sung said.
On Sunday night, the de facto US embassy announced that Republican Congressman Michael McCaul will lead a delegation that will visit Taiwan from Sunday to Thursday “to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment.”
Taiwanese presidential spokesman Wen Lii said the delegation will meet with Lai on Monday.
The visit “conveys an expression of support for the new administration and the people of Taiwan through concrete actions,” he said.
– Intimidation tactics –
Since 2016, China has increased military and political pressure on Taiwan, and its warships, drones and warplanes maintain an almost daily presence across the island.
The dispute has long made the Taiwan Strait one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints.
During this week’s drills, fighter jets loaded with live ammunition advanced towards targets and bombers formed formations to combine with warships to simulate “attacks against important targets”, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.
Tong Zhen of China’s Academy of Military Sciences told state news agency Xinhua that the drills “mainly targeted the leaders and political center of ‘Taiwan independence’ and involved simulated precision strikes against key political and military targets.”
Meng Xiangqing, a professor at the Beijing-based National Defense University, told Xinhua that People’s Liberation Army (PLA) ships “were getting closer and closer to the island.”
“The exercises showed that we can control that eastern area,” Meng said, referring to the direction considered by the PLA to be the most likely from which external intervention could come.
The United States, which does not recognize Taiwan diplomatically but is its biggest ally and arms supplier, on Saturday urged China to “act with restraint.”
Experts say Beijing seeks to intimidate and exhaust Taiwan’s military.
On Sunday, two days after the exercises ended, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported that seven Chinese aircraft, 14 warships and four coast guard ships were “operating around” the island in a 24-hour period that ended at 06:00 (22:00 GMT Saturday). ).
The ministry also said in a separate statement that it found a cardboard box containing political slogans that had reportedly been left by Beijing at a dock in Erdan, an islet that is part of Taiwan-controlled Kinmen, near the Chinese city of Xiamen.
The Ministry of Defense ignored the incident, saying it suspected the intention was to create online conversations.
– ‘Main test’ –
Lai’s first week in office also saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets of Taipei to protest bills proposed by the opposition Kuomintang – considered pro-Beijing – and the Taiwan People’s Party.
DPP lawmakers have accused the opposition of rushing through the approval of bills – which expand parliament’s powers – without proper consultation.
Given that Lai’s DPP no longer holds a majority in parliament, his party will likely face challenges in approving his administration’s policies, such as strengthening the defense budget.
“The pressures are coming fast and early for the Lai administration,” Amanda Hsiao of the International Crisis Group told AFP.
“This will be a great test of your ability to manage multiple challenges, internal and external, at the same time,”
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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