Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te has claimed that countries in the Asia-Pacific could be next on China’s target if Beijing managed to invade the self-governed island.
Though Taiwan has its own democratically-elected government, China claims sovereignty over the island and has threatened to “reunite” it with the mainland by force if necessary. China has recently ramped up military and political pressure against the island.
In an interview with news agency AFP, President Lai expressed concern over Xi Jinping’s recent purge of military generals which could impact Beijing’s plans to invade Taiwan.
Calling his Chinese counterpart’s decision to remove top-level military officials as an “unusual situation”, Mr Lai said it does not change Taiwan’s need to remain alert and prepared.
“We must have the capability to deter China’s aggression at any time. We want to ensure that, for China, there is never a day that is a good day to invade Taiwan,” he said.
China's two highest-ranked generals have been ensnared in disciplinary probes, with He Weidong expelled in October last year and Zhang Youxia placed under investigation in January, marking one of the most high-profile purges of the Chinese military in decades. In January, China’s Ministry of National Defence announced that the country’s two most senior generals – Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli – would be removed from office and placed under investigation for serious disciplinary violations.
Branded as a “separatist leader”, Mr Lai’s administration has vocally maintained that only the island’s people can decide their future. Beijing has for decades forced its trade partners to sign up to some form of “One China” policy, which recognises China’s claim to Taiwan and accepts that the administration in Beijing is the only legal Chinese government.
The Taiwanese leader, who has already prepared the island with several military drills and bolstered its defence budget, said China will become “more aggressive, undermining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and the rules-based international order”.
“If Taiwan were annexed by China, China’s expansionist ambitions would not stop there,” he said.
“The next countries under threat would be Japan, the Philippines, and others in the Indo-Pacific region, with repercussions eventually reaching the Americas and Europe”, he said. China is also engaged in major territorial conflicts with Japan and the Philippines.
After regular skirmishes between China’s People Liberation Navy forces and Philippine Navy, the island’s president Ferdinand Marcos warned that the archipelago nation, where US troops have access to nine military bases, would “inevitably” be dragged into a war over Taiwan.
Mr Lai remarked on the prevailing situation and said that in this “changing world, nations belong to a global community”.
“A situation in any one country would inevitably impact another,” he said.
He also said the country’s parliament is on its way to approve an additional £29.3bn ($40bn) budget to fund crucial defence purchases, including high-level weapons from the US that can help it fight back Chinese forces in the event of a military escalation.
Mr Lai also claimed the US will stand by Taiwan and will not resort to using the island nation as a “bargaining chip” with China, even as Mr Xi warned Washington against selling weapons to Taiwan.
His remarks come months ahead of US president Donald Trump and Chinese leader Mr Xi’s meeting at a high-level summit in Beijing. If the talks helped maintain the status quo for Taiwan, Mr Lai said Taiwan welcomes them.
“We believe President Trump is undertaking a difficult peace-building effort, which entails safeguarding US interests and deterring Chinese expansionism in the short term,” he said.
“In the context of US-China trade competition, China seeks far more from the US than the US does from China,” the Taiwanese leader said.
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