President William Lai (賴清德) highlighted the sense of threat that China poses to the world in his first foreign television interview since taking office a year ago.
In the interview, recorded on Sunday in Taipei and broadcast on Monday night on Nippon News Network’s News Zero, host Sho Sakurai asked Lai about the possibility of a conflict with China.
The world now realizes that China is attempting to change the rules-based international order, with the annexation of Taiwan the first step, Lai said.
Photo from News Zero’s Instagram account
If Taiwan were to be invaded, the world supply chain would be disrupted, making it crucial that a cross-strait conflict is prevented, he said.
Asked whether the US would help defend Taiwan in a conflict, Lai did not offer a direct answer.
Former US “president [Joe] Biden and President [Donald] Trump have given the media different answers, but whether under the Biden administration or Trump administration, Taiwan-US ties have continued to get stronger,” Lai said.
World War II demonstrated the importance of improving Taiwan’s defenses and using deterrence to maintain peace, he said.
“We have to prepare for war in order to avoid war,” he said.
As part of its efforts to deter an attack, Taiwan is developing uncrewed weapons to meet Taiwan’s national security needs and to promote industrial development, he said.
The development of such weapons is not intended to help Taiwan invade China, but rather for self-defense, Lai said.
Taiwan and Japan have demonstrated strong bonds in helping each other to deal with disasters, he said, adding that the two sides can help each other overcome all kinds of hardships.
He expressed hope that the US, Japan and other democratic nations would unite to prevent China from starting a war.
“Prevention is more important than a cure,” he said.
The interview was part of a series dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II titled “Keeping the Present from Becoming the Pre-war Era.”
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