Taiwan to strengthen self-defense capabilities: MOFA

DIPLOMACY:
Democratic countries have reiterated the importance of cross-strait peace and their support can deter China’s aggression, MOFA said

• By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter

Taiwan will continue to strengthen its self-defense capabilities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday after US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John Aquilino issued a warning about Beijing’s ambition of being able to invade Taipei by 2027.

Asked about Aquilino’s comment on Tuesday that China aims to have the capability to invade Taiwan by 2027, ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said that the government “would not speculate or comment on whether or when China would attack Taiwan.”

Taiwan would strive to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, he said, adding that the nation does not provoke or succumb to pressure.

In recent years, democratic countries around the world have reiterated the importance of cross-strait peace and stability and opposition to unilateral change to the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait, he said.

The concerns and support from the international community can help deter China’s aggression, he said.

To strive for peace and back it up, the nation would strengthen its self-defense capabilities to prepare for any possible situation, he said.

Meanwhile, the US and the Philippines earlier this week reiterated the importance of peace across the Taiwan Strait while urging China to cease its dangerous actions in the South China Sea.

Washington and Manila “reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” in a joint statement issued after the 11th US-Philippines Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Washington on Monday and Tuesday.

The two sides pledged to “advance a free, safe and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive, prosperous, secure and based on international law, and that protects shared principles including territorial integrity; sovereignty; sovereign rights and jurisdiction; and the peaceful resolution of disputes,” the statement said.

They voiced opposition to “any threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”

They urged China to abide by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and refrain from aggressive and dangerous actions in the South China Sea, it said.

In other developments, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib voiced the country’s support for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer.

Lahbib on Tuesday told the Belgian parliament that Belgium supports Taiwan’s participation in the WHO and considers it appropriate to invite Taiwan to participate as an observer at the WHA next month, the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium said.

According to the office, Lahbib said that Belgium’s Permanent Mission in Geneva has advocated for Taiwan’s involvement on various occasions.

Lahbib said that her ministry would continue to communicate with authorities and like-minded countries about the issue, the office said.

This year’s assembly is scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 27 to June 1.

Belgian parliamentarian Els van Hoof, chair of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, and other lawmakers recognized the nation’s public health expertise and experience and supported Taiwan’s joining the WHO to contribute to global public health, the office said.

The office thanked Lahbib for expressing the Belgian government’s public endorsement of Taiwan’s attendance at the WHA as an observer for four consecutive years.