President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that his position had always been that the military should prepare for war but not provoke one.
Ma said that while his cross-strait policies had created hope for peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwanese should remember that Beijing is targeting more than 1,000 missiles at Taiwan and therefore poses a threat to the nation’s security.
“There is threat and there is also opportunity in cross-strait relations … the function of the decision-maker is to minimize the threat and maximize the opportunities,” he said, adding that the military had every reason to remain alert and to seek to prevent any threat to peace in the Strait.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
Ma made the remarks while addressing the 145 recipients of this year’s model armed forces, groups and individuals award in Taipei yesterday morning.
In a recent interview with the Chinese-language magazine Global Views, Ma said it was the common aspiration of both sides of the Strait to achieve a truce across the Strait and within the international community.
However, it will take work on both sides and Taiwan cannot achieve this on its own, he said.
“If the mainland is not interested in our proposal, we will soon know and swiftly restore the preparedness we should have,” he said yesterday. “The government is not promoting capitulation, but rather advocating the idea that the armed forces should not be afraid of war and should be prepared for one. However, we will make every effort to prevent a war and not to provoke one.”
To prevent a war and deter potential enemies, Ma said the administration would seek to create modern, professional and reliable armed forces through reform in military affairs and transformation of the national defense apparatus.
“We cannot just sit at home and think that war will not break out,” he said. “We must prepare the armed forces so that our enemy will think twice about provoking a war. We must also buy the necessary weapons and earmark the necessary budgets, because only by doing so can we protect Taiwan and ensure its sovereignty.”
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