By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Taiwan cherishes peace but will not give up its freedom, and there must be respect for the right of Taiwan’s people to exist, President Lai Ching-te said on Saturday in a national day speech, adding that boosting defences is not a provocation.
Democratically governed Taiwan has faced increased military and political pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory over the strong objections of the government in Taipei.
Taiwan is ramping up defence spending and modernising its armed forces, but faces China’s far larger military and is adding advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles.
Peace cannot rely solely on “wishes”, Lai said, speaking outside the presidential office.
“Taiwan cherishes peace, but we will not give up our freedom. We are open to exchanges, but will not accept subordination,” Lai said.
Taiwan’s resolve was not only a matter of its survival in the face of “authoritarian expansion”, he added.
“It is about whether the international community still believes that force cannot override rules, and that the powerful cannot strip a people of their right to determine their own future.”
DEFENCE INVESTMENT NOT ‘PROVOCATION’
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his speech. China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, calls Lai a “separatist” and has rebuffed his offers of talks.
Lai said his government’s increased investment in defence aimed not to provoke, but rather deter, war.
“And we are strengthening our self-defence not to abandon dialogue, but to ensure that dialogue can take place on the basis of parity and dignity.”
In 2024, shortly after Lai’s first national day speech as president, China held war games around the island, but it did not do so last year.
Its last war games near Taiwan were in late December, following news of an $11-billion US arms deal for Taipei, the largest ever.
Lai said he welcomed the United States and China managing their competition through dialogue and reducing the risk of conflict and war.
But he urged democracies in the Indo-Pacific region to join forces to retain the status quo of peace and stability in the region.
Taiwan’s National Day is held on the anniversary of a 1911 uprising that led to the overthrow of China’s last imperial dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China.
The Republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists, and the Republic of China remains the island’s formal name.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by William Mallard, Shri Navaratnam and Clarence Fernandez)
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