Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te pledged on Thursday to “resist annexation” in the face of growing military and economic pressure from Beijing to assert its territorial claims over the East Asian democracy.
The Chinese Communist Party claims the island as its own territory even though it has never ruled there. In recent years it has stepped up air and sea military drills as well as trade sanctions to try to bring Taiwan and its 23.5 million-strong population under its control.
“I will also uphold the commitment to resist annexation or encroachment upon our sovereignty,” Mr Lai told the Taiwanese public and foreign dignitaries during a keynote speech on Thursday to mark Taiwan’s National Day.
He urged China to join Taiwan in contributing to “peace, security, and prosperity” in the region and across the globe.
“As we stand here today, international tensions are on the rise, and each day countless innocents are suffering injuries or losing their lives in conflict,” he said.
“We hope that China will live up to the expectations of the international community, that it will apply its influence and work with other countries toward ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East.”
President Lai’s address had been highly anticipated. Beijing views the new Taiwanese president with contempt and has denounced him as a “separatist.”
On Thursday, China’s foreign ministry condemned Mr Lai for being “hell-bent” on independence.
The speech “exposed his hell-bent position on independence and his sinister intention to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait for political self-interest,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press briefing.
Ahead of the speech, the United States urged “restraint” from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and warned that Beijing could use Mr Lai’s remarks as a “pretext” for taking military action.
“We see no justification for a routine annual celebration to be used in this manner,” said a senior official in the Biden administration.
Mr Lai’s address was widely viewed as robust but measured.
He reiterated his government’s position that China has no right to represent Taiwan, stressing that the Republic of China, the island’s formal name, and the People’s Republic of China are “not subordinate to each other”.