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According to EFE, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te stressed on Thursday that he intends to build a “steel-like military force” to limit threats from China and safeguard Taiwan’s “survival and development.”
“We will always defend our free and democratic constitutional system and insist that the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name) and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other. Our sovereignty must not be violated or annexed. Taiwan’s future must be decided by the 23.5 million Taiwanese people,” the president declared before a group of newly promoted generals.
Jimmy Lai, who is seen by Beijing as an independent troublemaker, assured that the Taiwanese government is promoting “reform” of Taiwan’s defense system, restoring the compulsory military service period to one year (previously four months) and strengthening the army’s equipment “through self-strengthening of national defense and purchasing weapons.”
The main reason cited by Taiwan’s head of state was that in recent years China had “stepped up its military and political coercion against Taiwan” and had conducted “large-scale” military exercises around the island “without prior notice,” which “caused instability in the region.”
Jimmy Lai said that as a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will maintain a firm and balanced position, maintain the status quo, and strive to maintain regional peace and stability. Build a solid fighting force.
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“In the age of artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, decentralized intelligence and multi-party joint attack chains are areas we need to strengthen and challenges to overcome. This is evident in the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, between Israel and Palestine,” highlighted the island’s leader.
This week, President Lai Ching-te announced the government’s intention to increase the defense budget to a “historic high” of NT$647 billion (US$19.878 billion) in 2025, an increase of 6% each year.
If approved by Congress, the proposal would account for about 20% of total administrative spending next year, estimated at NT$3.13 trillion (US$96.244 billion), according to Taiwan’s presidential office.
China has further tightened its military siege on Taiwan, a territory that has been self-governing since 1949 and is considered a “rebel province” by Beijing, after Lai Chih-chih took office as president on May 20. In the past two and a half months, Taiwan has spotted more than 1,400 Chinese military aircraft operating on the island, of which 1,024 crossed the Taiwan Strait demarcation line or entered Taiwan’s self-proclaimed air defense identification zone.
Chairman Lai’s proposal for dialogue was met with outright opposition from the Beijing government, which insisted that the “unification” of the mainland and Taiwan was an “irresistible historical trend.”
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