War with China not inevitable, Taiwan government officials say
“We are small, but we are not alone,” deputy foreign affairs minister says.
JENNIFER HLAD | JUNE 28, 2024
CHINA ASIA-PACIFIC
TAIPEI, Taiwan—While Chinese military aircraft and ships cross the median line of the Taiwan Strait every day in a growing campaign of harassment, the island does not see war with China as inevitable or unavoidable, top government officials said.
“They are huge. Bigger. Bullier. Economically, yes. Militarily, yes,” Chung-kwang Tien, Taiwan’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, told a group of international reporters during a media trip paid for by the Taiwanese government. But, he said, the democratically run island knows its weaknesses, and has built a strong international community of support.
“So we are small, but we are not alone,” Tien said.
One of the strongest of those supporters is the United States. This month, the State Department announced a $360 million drone sale to Taipei, its 15th sale of defensive weapons to the island. But arms exports fray relations between Washington and Beijing, which have been particularly tense since the 2022 visit to Taiwan of then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Only recently have U.S. and Chinese military officials revived communications.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2024/06/war-china-not-inevitable-taiwan-government-officials-say/397734/
