Taiwan says war with China ‘absolutely’ not an option, but bolstering defences

TAIPEI, Oct 10 (Reuters) – War between Taiwan and China is “absolutely not an option”, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen mentioned on Monday, as she reiterated her willingness to speak to Beijing and likewise pledged to spice up the island’s defences together with with precision missiles.

China once more rejected her newest overture, saying the island was an inseparable a part of its territory.

Democratic Taiwan, which China claims as its personal, has come below rising army and political stress from Beijing, particularly after Chinese war video games in early August following a Taipei go to by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Any battle over Taiwan might drag within the United States, Japan and maybe a lot of the world, in addition to shatter the worldwide financial system, particularly given Taiwan’s dominant place as a maker of semiconductors utilized in all the pieces from smartphones and tablets to fighter jets.

Tsai, in her nationwide day speech exterior the presidential workplace below a gray sky, mentioned it was “regrettable” that China had escalated its intimidation and threatened peace and stability within the Taiwan Strait and area.

China ought to not suppose there’s room for compromise within the dedication of Taiwan’s folks to democracy and freedom, she mentioned.

“I want to make clear to the Beijing authorities that armed confrontation is absolutely not an option for our two sides. Only by respecting the commitment of the Taiwanese people to our sovereignty, democracy, and freedom can there be a foundation for resuming constructive interaction across the Taiwan Strait.”

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning mentioned Taiwan is a part of China, “has no president and is not an independent country”.

“The root cause of the current tensions in the Taiwan Strait lies in the Democratic Progressive Party authorities’ stubborn insistence on Taiwan independence and secession,” she mentioned, referring to Taiwan’s ruling celebration. “We are willing to create a broad space for peaceful reunification, but we will never leave any space for Taiwan independence and secession activities.”

China calls Tsai – re-elected by a landslide in 2020 on a promise to face as much as Beijing – a separatist and refuses to talk to her.

Tsai’s speech comes lower than every week earlier than China’s ruling Communist Party’s congress opens in Beijing, the place President Xi Jinping is extensively anticipated to win a precedent-breaking third five-year time period.

An official acquainted with Tsai’s pondering, talking on situation of anonymity, advised reporters the president was seeking to “clearly convey” her place to the world and Beijing.

“Standing firm on the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is the main axis of Tsai’s comments on cross-strait relations this year,” the official mentioned, including this was the world’s expectation and accountability of each Taipei and Beijing.

‘NO ROOM FOR COMPROMISE’

Tsai mentioned, to applause, that her authorities appeared ahead to the gradual post-pandemic resumption of wholesome and orderly people-to-people exchanges throughout the strait, which might ease tensions.

But the broad consensus in Taiwan is that its sovereignty and free and democratic lifestyle have to be defended, she added.

“On this point, we have no room for compromise,” she mentioned.

Tsai has made strengthening Taiwan’s defences a cornerstone of her administration to allow it to mount a extra credible deterrence to China, which is ramping up an bold modernisation programme of its personal army.

Taiwan will present the world it’s taking accountability for its personal defence, Tsai mentioned.

Taiwan is rising mass manufacturing of precision missiles and high-performance naval vessels, and dealing to accumulate small, extremely cell weapons that may guarantee Taiwan is absolutely ready to answer “external military threats”, she added.

The army tensions have raised considerations, particularly within the United States, in regards to the focus of chip making in Taiwan.

“I want to specifically emphasise one point to my fellow citizens and the international community, which is that the concentration of the semiconductor sector in Taiwan is not a risk,” she mentioned.

“We will continue to maintain Taiwan’s advantages and capacity in leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing processes, and will help optimise the worldwide restructuring of the semiconductor supply chain, giving our semiconductor firms an even more prominent global role,” she added.

Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Martin Pollard in Beijing; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Gerry Doyle

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