Taiwan is maintaining a watch on Chinese military activity for any early warning signs, but cannot answer hypothetical questions about whether there would be a repeat of last year’s war games following Taiwan’s national day, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said.
Taiwan is to celebrate its national day on Friday next week, with a keynote speech by President William Lai (賴清德).
China staged a military exercise around the nation last year shortly after the holiday, in what it said was a warning to “separatist acts.”
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Asked about the possibility of a repeat of that this year, Koo said the armed forces are keeping watch.
“We will continue to monitor relevant developments in China and gather any early warning intelligence. We will closely track and respond accordingly,” Koo said. “Regarding hypothetical scenarios, I am unable to provide answers at this time.”
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
China is in the middle of its own week-long national day holiday.
Koo on Thursday visited military bases on the Penghu Islands.
The Ministry of Defense published a photo of him in front of a Sky Bow III missile battery, a home-grown surface-to-air missile with a similar mission profile to the US-made Patriot missile, which Taiwan also operates.
“Facing severe enemy threats, Penghu serves as a critical defense zone for our combat operations,” the ministry cited Koo as telling the troops.
Koo declined to comment about whether the Sky Bow III has now been fully deployed to Taiwan’s offshore islands, saying only that the system has entered service.
Penghu is home to one of Taiwan’s most important air bases.
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