Taiwan’s response after China drills

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said in a New Year’s address that Taiwan will defend the self-ruled island’s sovereignty in the face of China’s “expansionist ambitions.” His comments came on Thursday, days after China wrapped up live-fire military drills near Taiwan that involved rocket launches, aircraft and warships.

“In the face of China’s rising expansionist ambitions, the international community is watching to see whether the Taiwanese people have the resolve to defend themselves,” Lai said in the address, according to the report.

As Lai spoke about deterrence and defense, China responded through a spokesperson for the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, who criticized him in state media. The spokesperson, Chen Binhua, called Lai “a saboteur of peace, a troublemaker and a warmonger,” the report said, citing Xinhua.

Lai said, “As president, my stance has always been clear: to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, strengthen national defense and the resilience of the whole society, and comprehensively construct an effective deterrence and democratic defense mechanism,” according to the report.

The address also underscored the urgency of Taiwan’s planning amid China’s threats, with Lai saying, “Facing China’s serious military ambitions, Taiwan has no time to wait.”

China’s criticism and its stated grievances

Chen Binhua told Xinhua that Beijing views Taiwan as part of China and said Lai and Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party authorities cannot change that. “No matter what Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party authorities say or do, they cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China,” Chen Binhua said, according to the report.

China’s anger, as described in the report, also extended beyond the drills. Beijing expressed concern about a planned U.S. arms sale to Taiwan and about comments from Japan’s new leader regarding potential Tokyo intervention in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

U.S. arms sale and Taiwan’s defense budget

The report said the planned U.S. arms sale to Taiwan is valued at more than $11 billion, and would include missiles, drones, artillery systems and military software. It also said the United States is obligated by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

Taiwan, meanwhile, has been increasing long-term defense planning. The report said Taiwan last year announced a special $40 billion budget for arms purchases, including efforts to build an air defense system called the Taiwan Dome.

The report said the $40 billion budget will be allocated over eight years, from 2026 to 2033. It also said Lai pledged to raise Taiwan’s defense spending to 5% of the island’s GDP as part of his strategy amid China’s threats of invasion.

Background: China-Taiwan dispute after 1949

The report said China sees Taiwan as its territory and threatens to annex it by force if necessary. It added that Taiwan has been governed independently from the mainland since 1949, after the Nationalist Party lost a civil war against the Chinese Communist Party and retreated to the island.

In a separate New Year’s statement described in the report, China’s leader Xi Jinping called Taiwan’s eventual annexation “unstoppable” during his televised New Year’s address on Wednesday.