By Yimou Lee and Laurie Chen
TAIPEI/BEIJING (Reuters) -Taiwan is determined to defend itself and protect its free way of life, the island’s defence minister said on Thursday discussing next month’s annual exercises, as China’s military vowed to boost combat readiness to stop “separatist” activities.
China, which views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up its military threats over the past five years, staging several rounds of war games and sending its forces into the skies and waters near the island on a daily basis.
Speaking to a committee set up by President Lai Ching-te to boost resilience in the face of a possible Chinese attack, Defence Minister Wellington Koo outlined Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang exercises which start next month.
The military drills will begin with rehearsals to counter potential “high-intensity grey zone incursions” from China evolving into an assault, and Taiwan’s armed forces will practice repelling a Chinese landing, Koo said.
New High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, made by Lockheed Martin, will be used at Han Kuang for the first time, along with Taiwan-developed Sky Sword surface-to-air missiles, he added.
The drills will “let the international community know that we are determined to defend ourselves, and to pass on to China that the nation’s military has the confidence and ability to defend a free and democratic life”, Koo said.
Earlier on Thursday, the defence ministry reported that China had held another “joint combat readiness patrol” involving warships and 21 military aircraft around Taiwan, including Su-30 fighters.
China labels Lai a “separatist” and its government has expressed further anger after he gave two speeches this week saying that Taiwan has its own sovereignty and China has no historical or legal basis for claiming it.
Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said Lai’s distortion of history and “evil doctrine” had “fully exposed his sinister intention of provoking and escalating cross-Taiwan Strait confrontation”.
“The People’s Liberation Army will not tolerate the separatist acts of Taiwan independence, will continue to strengthen its military training and combat preparedness, and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he told a regular news conference.
Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, and any attack on Taiwan could ignite a broader regional war.
Lai and his government strongly object to China’s sovereignty claims, saying it is up to the island’s people to decide their future.
The last Chinese war games in April and October were portrayed in part by Beijing as a test of a possible blockade of Taiwan.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Laurie Chen; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Writing by Greg Torode and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Kate Mayberry and Philippa Fletcher)
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