The government is enacting the Comprehensive Action Plan to Establish Defense of Democracy Systems and the Comprehensive Action Plan to Invest in National Defense-related Industries to address threats against Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
There would be no compromise on national security, Lai said, citing the 1938 Munich Agreement and the 1951 Seventeen Point Agreement between Tibet and China as examples.
The defense of democracy plan tasks national security agencies to form a joint task force and provide solutions based on the theme of “democratic Taiwan versus China’s Taiwan,” he said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The task force would work with domestic groups and allied countries to demonstrate to the world Taiwan’s resolve to safeguard its democracy, uphold the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and frustrate Chinese efforts to undermine the sovereignty of the Republic of China through its distortion of UN General Assembly Resolution No. 2758 and its alteration of history by misinterpreting documents, Lai said.
Both tactics seek to legitimize Beijing’s attempts to make Taiwan a part of China, he said.
The plans include enhancing Taiwanese national identity, making announcements during elections transparent and raising public awareness of Beijing’s attempts to intervene in Taiwan’s affairs, he said.
The government would establish a consensus that the “one country, two systems” solution is a red line for Taiwan, he said, urging all political parties, civic groups and legal persons to adhere to that consensus in interactions with China.
The national defense industries plan would promote and foster peace, Lai said.
Taiwan’s joint operations capability should be increased as much as possible before 2027 to pose an effective deterrent, and to create a resilient defense force by 2033 that can deter China and permanently defend “democratic Taiwan,” Lai said.
To achieve the goals, Taiwan would invest more than 3 percent of GDP into national defense next year and at least 5 percent by 2030, he said.
The government would produce an action plan to bolster national defense industries, which would help elevate industrial and economic development, Lai said.
The Executive Yuan would prepare a thorough plan so that spending on the plans does not take away from other government budgets, he said, adding that the Ministry of National Defense should ameliorate procurement procedures and regulations, and continue to purchase advanced equipment in line with the nation’s asymmetric warfare doctrine.
Boosting democracy is not provocation and Taiwan’s existence is not an excuse for others to upset the “status quo,” Lai said, adding that he hopes the nation would unite to safeguard the country and the freedom of its people.
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