A day after China simulated “joint precision strikes” on Taiwan during military exercises around the island, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu condemned Beijing’s actions in an exclusive interview with CNN and warned that “they seem to be trying to prepare to launch a war against Taiwan”.
“Look at the military exercises and also their rhetoric, they seem to be trying to prepare to launch a war against Taiwan,” Wu said.
“The Taiwanese government views the Chinese military threat as something that cannot be accepted and we condemn it,” he added.
Asked whether Taiwan has any sense of the timing of possible Chinese military action, given US intelligence assessments that Xi has instructed its military to be prepared by 2027, Wu expressed confidence in Taiwan’s preparations.
“Chinese leaders will think twice before deciding to use force against Taiwan. And it doesn’t matter if it’s 2025, or 2027, or even beyond, Taiwan simply needs to prepare,” he said.
The drills appeared to mark the first time the Chinese navy had simulated warplane attacks on Taiwan-based aircraft carriers.
Beijing launched the exercises on Saturday, the day after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a 10-day visit to Central America and the United States, where she met with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. , and other US lawmakers.
Beijing described them as “a serious warning against Taiwan separatist forces colluding with external forces and a necessary move to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Asked whether the costs of such a visit were too high, Wu told the CNN : “China cannot dictate how Taiwan makes friends. And China cannot dictate how our friends want to show support for Taiwan.”
Beijing held similar large-scale military exercises around Taiwan last August after then-U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited the island.
These exercises included Chinese missile launches over the island, something that has not been seen so far in current exercises.
Taiwan and China have been governed separately since the end of a civil war more than seven decades ago, in which defeated nationalists fled to Taipei.
Taiwan transitioned from an authoritarian government to a democracy in the 1990s and is now ranked as one of the freest jurisdictions in Asia by Freedom House, a non-profit organization based in the United States.
However, the Communist Party of China claims the autonomous island as its territory, and in recent years, as its power has grown, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made clear his ambitions to “reunify” the island – by force if necessary. .
China’s exercises also coincided with a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, who was received in Beijing by Xi.
After their meeting, Macron appeared to question whether France should get involved in the Taiwan crisis, telling reporters that “the worst would be to think that we Europeans must become followers of this topic and adapt to the American pace or a Chinese overreaction.” ”.
French officials later said his comments had been misinterpreted. Wu said to CNN that Taipei asked France for clarification.
“We are still trying to find out what he said and what it means through the French government,” Wu said, although he noted that “the French government has shown support for Taiwan.”
As tensions between the US and China escalated over Taiwan, President Joe Biden said the US would defend the island militarily if China attacked, although administration officials have insisted the US remains committed to its policy of ” One China”.
The US, through the Taiwan Relations Act, is legally required to supply Taiwan with defensive weaponry, but officials generally remain deliberately vague about whether the US would defend Taiwan in the event of an attempted Chinese attack.
While Wu has repeatedly emphasized that “defending Taiwan is our own responsibility,” he noted that, with its relationship with its allies in the region, “the United States appears to be more determined than ever to create a situation (so) that China knows that its a military strike against Taiwan will be associated with a high cost. And we thank the United States for taking that stance.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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