Taiwan is monitoring “abnormal” changes to China's military leadership after its most senior general was put under investigation, and would not lower its guard as the threat level remains high, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.
Beijing on Saturday announced that Zhang Youxia (張又俠), second-in-command under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as vice chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission, and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were under investigation for suspected serious contraventions of discipline and law.
"We will continue to closely monitor abnormal changes among the top levels of China's party, government and military leadership. The military's position is based on the fact that China has never abandoned the use of force against Taiwan," Koo told reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Photo: EPA
Zhang has long been seen as Xi's closest military ally, and is one of the few senior Chinese officers with combat experience, having taken part in the 1979 border conflict with Vietnam.
China sends warplanes and warships into the skies and waters around Taiwan on an almost daily basis.
Koo said what the Ministry of National Defense is looking at is not any "single leadership reshuffle that would be enough to draw conclusions."
Photo: Lo Pei-te, Taipei Times
Taiwan would use a range of joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance methods, as well as intelligence-sharing, to "grasp" China's possible intentions, he said.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and held its latest round of war games around the nation late last month.
Speaking later in the day to lawmakers, Koo said it was clear that the Chinese threat was worsening, pointing to the war games, daily military activities and a continuing rise in China's defense spending.
“We won't let the downfall of any one person make us lower our guard or slacken the level of war preparedness we should maintain,” he said.
Taiwan would exchange intelligence with its partners on what changes might be taking place in China's military command structure, Koo said.
“Regarding the threat to us, we need to focus on early warning indicators and signs. This has to be continuous not only on the military side, but also on the non-military side,” he said.
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