TAIPEI, Taiwan 鈥� Taiwan鈥檚 foreign minister on Wednesday said the island will defend itself 鈥渢o the very last day鈥� if attacked by China.
Joseph Wu said China鈥檚 attempts at conciliation while engaging in military intimidation are sending 鈥渕ixed signals鈥� to the island鈥檚 residents.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be won over peacefully or by force.
Wu noted China flew 10 warplanes into Taiwan鈥檚 air
鈥淲e are willing to defend ourselves, that鈥檚 without any question," Wu told reporters. 鈥淲e will fight a war if we need to fight a war, and if we need to defend ourselves to the very last day, then we will defend ourselves to the very last day.鈥�
China does not recognize Taiwan鈥檚 democratically elected government, and leader Xi Jinping has said 鈥渦nification鈥� between the sides cannot be put off indefinitely.
鈥淥n the one hand they want to charm the Taiwanese people by sending their condolences, but at the same time they are also sending their military aircraft and military vessels closer to Taiwan aimed at intimidating Taiwan鈥檚 people," Wu said at a ministry briefing.
鈥淭he Chinese are sending very mixed signals to the Taiwanese people and I would characterize that as self-defeating," Wu said.
The vast improvements in China's military capabilities and its increasing activity around Taiwan have raised concerns in the U.S., which is legally bound to ensure Taiwan is capable of defending itself and to regard all threats to the island's security as matters of 鈥済rave concern."
Speaking in Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Taiwan. 鈥淭he United States maintains the capacity to resist any resort to force or any other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security or the social or economic system of the people on Taiwan,鈥� Price said Wednesday.
The naval drills being conducted in waters off Taiwan were meant to help China "safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests,鈥� the army said Monday, using language often interpreted as being directed at Taiwan鈥檚 leadership that has refused to give in to Beijing鈥檚 demands that it recognize the island as part of Chinese territory.
Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, and most Taiwanese
China has created conditions for greater economic integration, while also targeting some communities such as pineapple farmers in hopes of weakening their support for the island鈥檚 government.
Chinese diplomatic pressure has been growing also, reducing the number of Taiwan's formal diplomatic allies to just 15 and shutting its representatives out of the World Health Assembly and other major international forums.
Taiwan has responded by boosting its high-tech industries and unofficial foreign relations, particularly with its key partners the U.S., Japan and others, and by building up its own
Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy says the carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group reentered the South China Sea on Saturday to 鈥渃onduct routine operations.鈥� It is the second time the strike group has entered the waterway this year as part of its 2021 deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.
The Associated Press
