A peace treaty cannot guarantee peace, and a strong military force must back up any form of reconciliation to safeguard national interests, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
“Peace cannot be achieved through a mere piece of paper called a peace agreement, nor can it — nor will it ever — be achieved by yielding to the demands of an aggressor,” Lai said during a visit to observe army reservists’ training exercises in Yilan County.
“Even when engaging in reconciliation, we must have strong power to back us up to protect our national interests. Without sufficient strength as support, reconciliation will ultimately degenerate into surrender,” he said, adding that the training and preparation of reservists are therefore essential to the nation.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The introduction of drone training is a milestone in reservist training from which participants could learn valuable skills that could aid their careers and benefit the country if they were called to action, Lai told the Third Battalion of reservists.
This particular reservist training incorporates all the necessary skills and techniques for urban combat, such as setting up barriers, small-unit combat and first-aid training, and prepares every reservist with the required skills should that time arise, he said.
US-trained instructors led the training course, allowing reservists to learn to use and operate drones and enhance overall combat capability, he added.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
In the face of China’s coercion and harassment, the government has to spend more on the nation’s defense, he said.
“National security allows absolutely no room for compromise. National sovereignty and the core values of freedom and democracy are the very foundation of our nation,” he added.
VP INTERVIEW
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
Separately, in an interview with US podcast host Natalie Winters that aired on Monday, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said that Taiwan is aspiring for “enduring, and sustainable peace,” and that Taiwan does not have a timeline for peace.
“From Taiwan’s perspective, peace cannot involve domination by one side over another... As long as there is domination, repression or suppression of others, there will always be resistance, and that is not a sustainable form of peace,” she said.
Ideally, if both sides mutually respected one another, “we can work with each other,” she said, but added that “the reality [is] that there is a lot of nationalistic animosity coming from China towards Taiwan, there is very aggressive military posturing, there is a threat to use force against Taiwanese people and none of that is conducive to ... mutual respect and sustainable peace.”
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office via CNA
Highlighting Taiwan’s role as a responsible member of the international community, she said: “We are not just a victim of coercion and military threats. We are a proactive partner, and we can contribute.”
Asked whether she foresaw any scenario in which “American boots would ever be on the ground in Taiwan,” Hsiao said that “everything we are doing” is to ensure that “particular hypothetical situation” stays hypothetical and never actually happens.
“And that’s why deterrence is so important, that is why strengthening Taiwan’s capabilities is just so important,” she added.
Taiwan will continue increasing defense spending, not only to procure weapons from the US, but also to expand investments in locally developed systems, such as drones, robotics and artificial intelligence, that can enhance national security.
“I think there are areas where cooperation with secure supply chains and innovation with the US, and other democratic partners, will help to expedite our ability to sustain that asymmetric edge, and the ability to deter and defend,” the vice president said.
Additional reporting by Reuters and CNA
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 12:37pm today, with clear shaking felt across much of northern Taiwan. There were no immediate reports of damage. The epicenter of the quake was 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall offshore at a depth of 66.8km, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. The maximum intensity registered at a 4 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. Other parts of Yilan, as well as certain areas of Hualien County, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Taichung and Miaoli County, recorded intensities of 3. Residents of Yilan County and Taipei received
Taiwan has secured another breakthrough in fruit exports, with jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees approved for shipment to the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday received formal notification of the approval from the EU, the ministry said, adding that the decision was expected to expand Taiwanese fruit producers’ access to high-end European markets. Taiwan exported 126 tonnes of lychees last year, valued at US$1.48 million, with Japan accounting for 102 tonnes. Other export destinations included New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, ministry data showed. Jujube exports totaled 103 tonnes, valued at
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
RSS