The military has contingency plans for any moves by China during President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) overseas visit, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) said yesterday ahead of Tsai’s departure next week for the US and Central America.
Tsai is to visit diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize on a 10-day trip from Wednesday next week, and is to stop over in New York and Los Angeles.
While in California, she is expected to meet US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the most sensitive leg of the trip, although the Presidential Office on Tuesday declined to confirm that the meeting would take place.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The potential meeting has stoked concern of a response from Beijing, which carried out large-scale war games around Taiwan in August last year after a visit to Taipei by then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Asked on the sidelines of a legislative session in Taipei whether China was likely to stage more drills when Tsai is abroad, Po said that Taiwan’s armed forces are prepared.
“When it comes to what the Chinese communists have done in the past, the defense ministry can have a grasp on it, and will consider the worst scenario,” he said.
“During the president’s overseas visit, the ministry has contingency plans for all moves” by China, Po added, declining to give details.
The White House on Tuesday said that there was no reason for China to react to Tsai’s stopovers in the US.
“There’s no reason for China to overreact. Heck there’s no reason for them to react,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “This is something ... that is commonplace and it has happened before, likely happen again. It’s personal, it’s unofficial.”
Kirby called the Tsai visit “business as usual here.”
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