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
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