Taiwan reaffirms readiness against Chinese invasion
ROC Central News Agency
10/19/2022 02:57 PM
Taipei, Oct. 19 (CNA) Taiwan's military would be "fully prepared" for any Chinese invasion whether Beijing decides to move up or push back a purported timeline to do so, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said Wednesday.
Chiu made the remarks before a meeting at the Legislature when asked by the media to comment on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's remarks on Monday that Beijing was determined to annex Taiwan on a "much faster timeline" during a conversation with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at an event in Stanford University.
"The military knows what it will have to do, whether in the next second or the next hour, while preparing for war. It will not sit idly by whether Beijing moves up or pushes back (its timeline to militarily invade Taiwan), it will have its own timeline, and it will pay attention to signs and make forecasts about possible developments accordingly," the minister said.
Chiu reiterated the need for the military to defend itself if it sustained a "first strike" from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), "Just like if someone tries to push you, you must dodge or deflect him."
Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said Tuesday the U.S. would continue to focus on deterring China from taking military action against Taiwan in response to reporters' questions about whether China had moved up a purported timeline to invade Taiwan.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Deputy Director David Cohen's said in September that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had ordered the PLA to have the capability to take control of Taiwan by force by 2027.
Cohen's claim echoed congressional testimony by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command commander Admiral Phil Davidson and INDOPACOM commander Admiral John Aquilino in March.
U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said on Aug. 8 during a Pentagon press briefing that the Pentagon had not changed its assessment that China would not take Taiwan by force in the next few years despite the PLA having staged live-fire military drills in six maritime zones around Taiwan in early August in response to a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
During Tuesday's Pentagon press briefing, Ryder was asked by reporters whether the Pentagon's assessment of the situation had changed after Blinken's remarks.
Ryder did not comment about Blinken's remarks and said that the Pentagon would not speculate on a timeline other than highlighting recent remarks by Xi that he would take Taiwan by force if necessary.
The U.S.' focus is on preserving stability and security throughout the Indo-Pacific region and would continue to be on "deterring possible military action and calling on both sides to resolve these (sovereignty) issues peacefully" under Washington's "one-China" policy, he said.
Xi reiterated during the speech at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Oct. 16 his resolve to achieve China's reunification with Taiwan, while stressing that China would "definitely not agree to giving up the use of force against pro-Taiwan independence separatists and external forces."
Taiwan's Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said on Oct. 16 in response to Xi's speech that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a "sovereign and independent country," and that mainstream public opinion in Taiwan had clearly rejected the "one country, two systems" scheme which Xi espoused for Taiwan.
(By Novia Huang, Chiang Chin-yeh and Sean Lin)
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