Taiwan says don't get too close as China defends military drills
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[October 13, 2021]
TAIPEI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Taiwan's
defence ministry warned China of strong countermeasures on Wednesday if
its forces got too close to the island, as Beijing defended its
incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone as "just" moves to protect
peace and stability.
Military tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory,
are at their worst in more than 40 years, Taiwan's defence minister said
last week, adding China will be capable of mounting a "full scale"
invasion by 2025.
He was speaking after China mounted four straight days of mass air force
incursions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone that began Oct.
1, part of a pattern of what Taipei views as stepped up military
harassment by Beijing.
No shots have been fired and China's aircraft have stayed well away from
Taiwan's airspace, concentrating their activities in the southwestern
corner of Taiwan's air defence zone.
In a report to parliament, Taiwan's defence ministry said their forces
will adhere to the principle of "the closer they are to the island, the
stronger the countermeasures", though it gave no details.
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The ministry expressed concern again of China's growing prowess, with
new aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines and amphibious assault
ships coming into service.
China's capabilities in denying access and blockading the Taiwan Strait
"are becoming more and more complete, which will pose serious challenges
and threats to our defence operations", it added.
China blames Taiwan, and its most important international backer the
United States, for the tensions, a point Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for
China's Taiwan Affairs Office, made again in Beijing, pointing the
finger at Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP).
Chinese drills are aimed at "collusion" with foreign forces - a veiled
reference to U.S. support for Taiwan - and separatist activities,
protecting the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well
as peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, he added.
"They are absolutely just actions," Ma said.
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Chinese and Taiwanese national flags are displayed alongside a
military airplane in this illustration taken April 9, 2021.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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"The DPP authorities' hyping of the so-called
'military threat' of the mainland is to completely invert right and
wrong, and a bogus accusation," he added.
"If the DPP authorities obstinately persist in going about things
the wrong way, and do not know how to draw back from the edge, it
will only push Taiwan into a more dangerous situation."
Taiwan says it is an independent country called the Republic of
China, its formal name, and will defend its freedom and democracy.
Despite Ma's comments, both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan
President Tsai Ing-wen made relatively conciliatory speeches at the
weekend, even as Xi vowed to bring Taiwan under its control and Tsai
said they would not be forced to bow to China.
Xi did not mention resorting to force over Taiwan, while Tsai
reiterated a desire for peace and dialogue with China.
Tsai, speaking at a regular party meeting on Wednesday, reiterated
that the government has never "slacked off" when presented with
China's military threats but has also never "advanced rashly".
"I also want to repeat that we will never succumb to pressure," she
added.
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Tom
Hogue, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Andrew heavens)
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