Taiwan would not negotiate with China under the threat of force, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) told lawmakers yesterday.
Chen made the remark at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee in response to a question by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wen Yu-hsia (溫玉霞) on the US Department of Defense’s Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.
The report, released on Wednesday, said that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aims to complete the modernization of its forces by 2027, a goal that, if realized, “would provide Beijing with more credible military options in a Taiwan contingency.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The report, quoting a military source in the Chinese media, said that the PLA’s goals for 2027 were to “develop the capabilities to counter the US military in the Indo-Pacific region, and compel Taiwan’s leadership to the negotiation table on Beijing’s terms.”
The scenario cannot be ruled out, as using military action to force negotiations is part of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) strategic thinking, Chen said, adding that Taiwan would need to react, but that certain safeguards are in place.
Chen cited the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
Article 5-3 of the act states that no negotiation with China can be conducted without a vote in favor from three-quarters of the Legislative Yuan, provisions for terminating the negotiation and a referendum to ratify agreements with Beijing.
“However, this government will never take part in a negotiation under the threat of military force, even if it had been duly authorized to do so,” Chen said, adding that Taiwan would by no means give up its pride.
KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) asked whether China’s growing nuclear arsenal could be turned against Taiwan, and if Chen agreed that Washington is pushing the country into a proxy war with China.
Chen said that China is developing its nuclear capabilities in the context of its competition with the US and other nuclear-armed states in the region, including India and North Korea.
It would be a tragedy for people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait if China were to use its nuclear arsenal against Taiwan, he added.
Regarding the risks of being embroiled in the US-China rivalry, Chen said that Beijing’s military buildup against Taiwan is motivated by the CCP’s ideological need to “unify” the country, which Beijing has publicly affirmed.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said that Chen should definitively state that China would not invade the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙島) before the end of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) term.
While a limited war over the Pratas Islands was part of the PLA’s strategic plan, the communist leadership rejected it following an internal debate, Chen said.
Lai added that some of his constituents are afraid for the safety of their children who are soldiers stationed on the Pratas Islands.
It is the duty of soldiers to lay down their lives for the country if necessary, Chen said.
“Appeasement will not bring peace,” he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2