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
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