By Kelvin Chen, Staff Writer — Taiwan News, Thursday 3 March 2022
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan relies on its own military for defence, Minister of National Defence Chiu Kuo-cheng said during a Legislative Yuan meeting on Wednesday 2 March. Kuomintang Legislator Lai Shih-pao asked Chiu if, given the US’ refusal to send troops to Ukraine, it is likely Washington would not help militarily in a Taiwan Strait conflict. Chiu said that there are many strategies in the military’s playbook on how to defend Taiwan and its outlying islands, but not one of them considers how to fight if the country receives military assistance from abroad. Taiwan focuses on holding repeated drills in its northern, central, southern, and eastern regions.
“The Taiwan military is entirely on its own,” Chiu said. Premier Su Tseng-chang added: “We have never said that we will rely on troops sent over by foreign countries.” The comments come as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked intense debate globally about whether major powers would intervene militarily to defend a smaller nation under attack.