By Ben Blanchard, Reuters — Thursday 14 October 2021
TAIPEI, 14 October (Reuters) — Taiwan will not start a war with China but will defend itself “full on,” Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Thursday, amid a spike in tensions across the Taiwan Strait. “What is clearest is that the Republic of China absolutely will not start or set off a war, but if there are movements we will meet the enemy full on,” Chiu told a parliament committee meeting. Military tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, are at their worst in more than 40 years, Chiu said, adding that China will be capable of mounting a “full-scale” invasion by 2025.
His comments came after China mounted four consecutive days of mass air force incursions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone beginning 1st October — part of what Taipei views as stepped-up military harassment by Beijing. China’s aircraft have stayed well away from Taiwan’s airspace, concentrating activity in the southwestern corner of the air defence zone. In a report to parliament, the Defence Ministry warned China of strong countermeasures if its forces got too close to the island. Chiu noted that China’s abilities are constrained by limited mid-air refuelling capacity, meaning only H-6 bombers and Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft have flown into the Bashi Channel separating Taiwan from the Philippines. “Their aims are on the one hand to pressure Taiwan, and on the other to say to everyone else we have the ability to scare away and obstruct foreign military forces from getting involved,” Chiu said. China called its military activities a “just” move to protect peace and stability, again blaming Taiwan’s “collusion” with foreign forces.