President Lai Vows to ‘Protect Democratic Taiwan’ as China Holds Military Exercises Encircling the Island

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te delivers his address during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei on Oct. 10, 2024. Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times

TAIPEI, Taiwan—Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te criticized China for undermining regional peace and stability, after the Chinese military launched a new round of drills around the island.

Lai, who took office in May, said in a Facebook post at noon on Oct. 14 that he had convened a meeting with his national security team and that his government had full knowledge of the Chinese military’s activities at the earliest possible moment.

“In the face of external threats, I would like to reassure my fellow citizens that the government will continue to defend the democratic and free constitutional system, protect democratic Taiwan, and safeguard national security,” Lai said.

He said that the Chinese regime’s military coercion against neighboring countries is “not in line with the expectations of the international community.”

Hours before Lai’s comments, China’s Eastern Theater Command launched what it called “Joint Sword-2024B” drills in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south, and east of Taiwan. It said the drills were intended to serve as “a stern warning” against what it described as “separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces,” without elaborating.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which considers Taiwan one of its provinces, has stepped up its military pressure and coercion tactics against Taiwan since Lai’s election win in January.

The Chinese regime’s hawkish state-run mouthpiece Global Times said in an opinion article published on Oct. 14 that Beijing had taken a “strong response” to what it considered “illegal provocation” from Lai’s “separatist” remarks during his speech on Oct. 10, Taiwan’s National Day.

In his inauguration speech in May and again in his Oct. 10 keynote address commemorating Taiwan’s 113th birthday, Lai said that communist China and democratic Taiwan “are not subordinate to each other.”

Days after Lai’s inauguration address, China’s military launched Joint Sword-2024A drills encircling Taiwan.

China also dispatched its coast guard vessels on Oct. 14. For the first time, the vessels circled Taiwan to conduct what the regime termed “law enforcement” patrols. In a statement, Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said the patrols aligned with the CCP’s “One China” principle.

The United States has a “One China” policy, which asserts that there is only one sovereign state named “China,” but it is different from the “One China” principle under which the CCP asserts sovereignty over Taiwan.

In a statement, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan “solemnly denounces” China over its military drills and that Lai had “expressed goodwill to China” in his National Day address.

“[The Ministry of Foreign Affairs] calls on nations around the world to recognize China’s authoritarian and expansionist nature, take concrete actions to support democratic Taiwan at this critical moment, unite in defending the values of freedom and democracy, and safeguard the rules-based international order,” the statement reads.

‘Unwarranted’

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said China’s military action “is unwarranted and risks escalation,” according to a statement.

“We call on the [People’s Republic of China (PRC)] to act with restraint and to avoid any further actions that may undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region,” Miller said.

“We continue to monitor PRC activities and coordinate with allies and partners regarding our shared concerns.”

The European External Action Service, the European Union’s diplomatic arm, said in a statement that China’s military exercises “increase cross-strait tensions.”

“The EU reaffirms that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are of strategic importance for regional and global security and prosperity,” the EU body stated. “We oppose any unilateral actions that change the status quo by force or coercion.”

On the night of Oct. 14, Capt. Li Xi, spokesperson for China’s Eastern Theater Command, announced that the drills had concluded.

Taiwan’s defense ministry held a news conference, also on the night of Oct. 14, saying it had detected 125 Chinese aircraft in the island’s vicinity from about 5 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. local time and that 90 of these had entered the island’s “response zone.” The ministry said that the number marks a single-day record for Chinese aircraft spotted.

Additionally, the ministry said it detected 17 Chinese naval vessels and 17 coast guard ships in the island’s nearby waters.

Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration reported on Oct. 14 that it had expelled four Chinese coast guard vessels from the “restricted waters” of Taiwan’s offshore island of Matsu.

Rush Doshi, director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations and former deputy senior director for China and Taiwan at the U.S. National Security Council, took to social media platform X to question the role of China’s coast guard vessels.

“This is unusual activity and outside of precedent, I believe. A prelude to law enforcement activity in the future? That would be a significant escalation,” Doshi wrote.

In June, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report investigating the possibility of China using its coast guard vessels to impose a quarantine on Taiwan.

Under such a scenario, the Chinese vessels would enforce the CCP’s customs rules around Taiwan, requiring cargo vessels, tankers, and their personnel destined for the island to undergo inspection and questioning by Chinese authorities.

In doing so, China could punish Taiwan economically and undermine the island’s sovereignty, the CSIS said.

Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang Party said in a statement it was “strongly regrettable” that China had chosen to conduct military drills around the self-ruled island, saying it would “seriously affect” regional security.