The president of Taiwan, William Lay, stressed this Thursday his intention to build a “steel military force” to contain the threat of the Chinese regime and guarantee “the survival and development” of the island.
"We will always defend our constitutional system of freedom and democracy, insisting that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other, that our sovereignty cannot be violated or annexed and that the future of Taiwán "It must be decided by the 23,5 million Taiwanese," said the president in front of a group of newly promoted generals.
Lai, considered an “independence supporter” and a “troublemaker” by the Beijing authorities, assured that the Taiwanese Government is promoting the “reform” of its Defense, restoring the compulsory military service of one year - before it was four months - and strengthening military equipment "through self-defense and the purchase of weapons."
The main reason is that, in recent years, China “has intensified its military and political coercion” on Taiwan, carrying out “large-scale” military maneuvers around the island “without prior notice,” which “generates instability in the region.”
"As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will maintain a firm and balanced attitude, preserving the status quo and striving to maintain regional peace and stability."Lai asserted, adding that the Taiwanese Armed Forces "must move with the times to build a solid combat force."
“In the era of artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, decentralized intelligence and joint multi-force attack chains are areas we must strengthen and challenges we must overcome. This is evident in the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Palestine,” said the island leader.
This same week, Lai announced the Government's intention to increase the defense budget to a “historic high” of 647.000 billion Taiwan dollars (about 19.878 million dollars) in 2025, which constitutes a year-on-year jump of 6%.
According to the Taiwanese Presidential Office, the proposal, if approved by Parliament, will cost around 20% of the total expenditure of the Executive for next year, which is estimated at 3,13 trillion Taiwan dollars (96.244 million dollars).
"We are determined to enhance our self-defense capabilities and strengthen cooperation with democratic partners to ensure peace and prosperity“Lai said during a cabinet meeting in which the details of the general budget for fiscal year 2025 were discussed.
Once approved by the cabinet, the budget must be debated and ratified by the Legislative Yuan (Parliament), where the two main opposition parties, the Kuomintang (KMT) and the People's Party of Taiwan (PPT), forces favorable to strengthen ties with China, they have a majority of seats (62 out of 113).
After Lai's inauguration on May 20, China has further strengthened its military siege around Taiwan, a territory governed autonomously since 1949 and considered by the Beijing regime as a “rebellious province.”
In the last two and a half months, Taiwan has detected more than 1.400 Chinese Army aircraft operating in the surroundings of the island, and a total of 1.024 of them crossed the dividing line of the Taiwan Strait or entered the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) Taiwanese.
Lai's proposals for dialogue have met with frontal opposition from the Chinese Government, which insists that the "reunification" between the continent and the island is an "unstoppable historical trend."
Customer in sight