Taiwan to strengthen defences as China tensions escalate
Al JazeeraPresident Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday promised to strengthen Taiwan’s defences and work more closely with regional partners on security as she called for ‘meaningful dialogue’ with China, which claims the island as its own. In a speech to mark Taiwan’s National Day, Tsai said the government would continue to modernise the island’s defence capabilities and enhance its capacity for asymmetric warfare to “deal with military expansion and provocation from the other side of the Taiwan Strait”. We are committed to upholding cross-strait stability, but this is not something Taiwan can shoulder alone; it is the joint responsibility of both sides.” Self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, has come under increasing pressure from Beijing since Tsai was first elected in 2016. Noting sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea, the East China Sea and along the India-China border, as well as China’s imposition of the National Security Law in Hong Kong, Tsai said it was “clear that democracy, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific are currently facing serious challenges.” Taiwan would continue to forge alliances with like-minded nations, she said.