Military are monitoring and analyzing all regional developments
Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng at the Legislative Yuan. (CNA photo)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan will not start a war but it is prepared for war every single day, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said Friday (Oct. 15).
He was responding to questions from reporters about a statement by a government colleague, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), that the frequent intrusions by Chinese military aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) amounted to a “quasi-war-like situation.”
The defense minister said he did not want to comment on his colleague’s statement. Instead, he would just repeat his earlier assertions that Taiwan was not looking for war and would not start a conflict with China, CNA reported.
The defense chief previously raised eyebrows by saying he estimated China would be capable of launching a full-scale attack against Taiwan by 2025. The statement came amid an intensifying of the ADIZ intrusions in early October, between China’s National Day on Oct. 1 and Taiwan’s on Oct. 10.
Chiu Kuo-cheng said the military was closely monitoring all developments in the region, including the alleged construction of military installations in parts of China close to Taiwan. Monitoring and analyzing such developments were a basic part of the military’s mission, but that did not mean it would make public comments about its conclusions, Chiu said.
www.taiwannews.com.tw
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