Monday, December 25, 2017

China Would ‘Pay A Very High Price’ If it Invades, Taiwan Warns

Taiwan
A senior Taiwanese minister has declared that China would “pay a very high price” if it invaded Taiwan.


Chang Hsiao-Yueh, Taiwan’s mainland affairs minister, also called on the United States not to use the self-governed island as a bargaining chip in negotiations with China.

The comments come amid a flare-up in tensions over the possibility of the US restarting naval visits to ports in Taiwan. Chinese diplomat Li Kexin recently warned that the day American naval vessels arrive at the island’s southern port city of Kaohsiung would be the day that China’s People’s Liberation Army unifies Taiwan with military force.

Chang, however, urged Beijing to favor regional peace and stability over assertive behavior, Asia Times reported.

“I think that we have enough defense to safeguard Taiwan,” she said during a briefing for visiting foreign journalists in Taipei.

“If they invade Taiwan militarily they will pay a very high price. And so far I believe that’s the last resort if all the other means [of unification] are failed then finally they will do that. But at this moment, because this government exercises extreme caution not to do anything that would be considered provocative, we do not think that they will do anything like that at this time.”

China has been expanding and modernizing its military in recent years, and experts have argued that Taiwan no longer has the technological edge. Beijing regards Taiwan as a wayward province that one day will return to its control. China’s president, Xi Jinping, used a speech to the 19th party congress in October to warn that Beijing had the capability “to defeat any form of Taiwan independence secession plot.”

“We will never allow any person, any organization, or any political party to split any part of the Chinese territory from China at any time or in any form,” Xi said then.

Commenting on the outlook for cross-Taiwan Strait relations after the party congress, Chang said she expected Beijing to continue to carry out military exercises to show its muscle and to pursue further efforts to isolate Taiwan in the international diplomatic arena. However, she also noted that the congress report did not talk about the use of force against Taiwan, nor did it set out a timetable for unification. Economic and cultural exchanges were also mentioned.

“It’s a mixed-use strategy; there’s a carrot and stick policy towards Taiwan. That’s what we expect in the next five years,” Chang said during the briefing held on 5 December.
 (Tasnim)
 25/12/17

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