Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te urged China on Friday to “unclench its fists” and not take any unilateral actions, saying ahead of expected Chinese war games around the island that Beijing would not win any respect for military drills.
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, is expected to launch another round of exercises in response to Lai’s trip to the Pacific, which has included stopovers in Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam, according to security sources.
Speaking to reporters in the Pacific Islands nation of Palau on the final day of his tour, Lai said he hoped China returned to the rules-based international order.
“It’s better to open your hands than to clench your fists. Only by doing so can China win respect from the international community,” Lai said, in comments carried live on Taiwanese television stations.
“No matter how many military drills China stages and how many ships and aircraft they dispatch to intimidate regional countries, China will not win the respect from any country,” he added, urging Beijing to stop “unsettling and regrettable” unilateral actions.
Asked about possible Chinese drills, Lai said Taiwan’s engagement with the world “should not be used by authoritarian countries as an excuse for provocation”.
Taiwan’s government has a full grasp of the security situation in the region and has made the “best preparations” to ensure the security of the Taiwan Strait separating the island from China, he said.
China detests Lai, branding him a “separatist”, and has rejected multiple offers of talks by him.
Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future and that Taiwan has a right to engage with the rest of the world.
(Reuters)