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No sign China is preparing attack on Taiwan – but we will be ready if they do: defence chief
- Island legislators told there is no evidence PLA is massing troops despite repeated drills and intimidation flights
- Premier Su Tseng-chang says Taiwan’s people will tenaciously defend themselves and their land
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There are no signs that China is preparing for all-out war with Taiwan, such as massing troops along its eastern coast, the Taiwanese defence chief said on Tuesday, after repeated drills by the mainland’s military near the island.
Taiwan has denounced mainland China’s manoeuvres, including flying fighter jets over the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, as an attempt at intimidation.
“The Chinese communists have continued their acts of provocation against Taiwan, but there are currently no signs showing it is ready to launch a full-scale war,” Defence Minister Yen Te-fa told legislators on the island.
One sign of an imminent attack would be troops from inland parts of China massing along its east, but there were no indications that was happening, he added.
Taiwan’s own forces are maintaining peacetime combat preparedness and have not stepped up their alert status, Yen said. Nevertheless he vowed a fight to the last man to defend the island’s sovereignty and democracy.
Last week, in an apparent warning to China, the defence ministry said Taiwan’s armed forces had the right to self-defence and counter-attack amid “harassment and threats”.
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