As Beijing began a military exercise around Taiwan yesterday, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) condemned each other’s approach toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The PRC’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) began an exercise called “Justice Mission 2025” yesterday in the Taiwan Strait and seas to Taiwan’s north, southwest, southeast and east.
The PLA said it would conduct live-fire drills today from 8am to 6pm in five designated maritime and airspace zones around Taiwan.
Photo: EPA
The exercise triggered recriminations by the DPP and KMT against each other.
DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) criticized KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) for saying she would prioritize visiting Beijing in the first half of next year and describing a possible meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as having “major strategic significance.”
Wu said Cheng’s remarks, made as China announced the exercises, showed the KMT’s cross-strait approach put Beijing first while ignoring Taiwan’s security and dignity.
He added the timing of the exercises, which came shortly after the Taipei-Shanghai Twin City Forum that concluded on Sunday, undercut the KMT’s claims that cross-strait exchanges helped ease tensions.
In response, Cheng said in a statement that China’s military pressure stemmed from what she described as the DPP government’s “wrong cross-strait policies,” arguing that President William Lai’s (賴清德) confrontational approach had heightened security risks and international anxiety.
Cheng said the KMT did not expect Beijing to halt military preparations in response to appeals by an opposition party, and she accused Lai of provoking confrontation while expecting the opposition parties to keep the door open for cross-strait peace.
She questioned the government’s defense policies, saying that its talk of building resilience was undermined by shortages of professional soldiers to operate Taiwan’s growing arsenal, and resistance to proposals to improve pay and conditions for servicemembers.
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) condemned the Chinese drills, saying they would do nothing to promote cross-strait peace or regional stability and instead deepen tensions.
Huang warned that continued military intimidation would only increase regional uncertainty.
The TPP urged Beijing to halt actions that undermined stability in the Taiwan Strait and act responsibly to maintain regional peace.
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