China is using military drills to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan, and its anger over US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit is just an excuse, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.
Speaking in English at a news conference in Taipei, Wu accused China of “gross violations of international law.”
“China has used the drills in its military playbook to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan,” he said. “It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyberattacks, disinformation and economic coercion, in an attempt to weaken public morale in Taiwan.”
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
He said the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) activities would have taken far longer to prepare if they were a direct response to Pelosi’s visit.
China’s tactics, including the firing of ballistic missiles, were “clearly trying to deter other countries from interfering in its attempt to invade Taiwan,” and showed that it has much broader geostrategic intentions, he said.
“China’s real intention is to alter the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait and the entire region,” Wu added.
Beijing has declared ownership of the Taiwan Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, and aims to influence the international community’s freedom of travel by controlling the stretch of water linking the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea, he said.
In the past week, the PLA has conducted more than 100 sea and air crossings of the median line, constituting “specific action to break the long-standing tacit agreement,” Wu said, adding that it would probably now try to “routinize its actions.”
“Its intentions are not likely to end there,” he said, noting China’s security agreement with the Solomon Islands and its influence across the Pacific, southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Continuing cyberattacks over the past week have also been traced to China and Russia, Wu said, adding that the authorities remained on “high alert,” but would not be cowed.
“China’s continued attempt to intimidate Taiwan will not panic us, nor will they defeat us. The values of freedom and democracy cannot be taken away,” he said.
Taiwan began its own scheduled live-fire military drills yesterday in Pingtung County, designed to simulate defensive operations against an attack.
Chinese vessels reportedly continued to run missions off Taiwan’s east coast and in the Strait yesterday, as median line crossings by PLA warplanes also continued.
Asked if China was trying to lure Taiwan’s allies in response to Pelosi’s visit, Wu reiterated that the nation’s diplomatic ties with its 14 allies are stable.
Wu said that some senior officials and heads of state from allied nations are planning to visit Taiwan soon to show their support amid rising cross-strait tensions.
He did not give further details, citing only the example of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a six-day visit.
Additional reporting by CNA and Reuters
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has