China has again sent fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defense zone, causing Taiwan to launch its own jets to respond to the incursion.
While China has become increasingly threatening, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu has vowed to fight to the end if China attacks.
“We are willing to defend ourselves without any questions and we will fight if we need to fight the war. And if we need to defend ourselves to the very last day, we will defend ourselves to the very last day,” said Wu.
Taiwan has seen a record number of incursions into its air zone by China, which seeks to pressure self-ruled Taiwan, which it regards as its own territory.
Beijing continues to publicly state that it will one day seize Taiwan.
Wu noted that while Beijing recently sent their sympathies following a deadly Taiwanese train crash, their repeated incursion is sending “very mixed signals” by offering sympathy for train crash victims while approaching the island with its fighters. “I would say that the policy is self-defeating,” Wu said.
“It’s not going to meet the purpose of the Chinese government, whether they want to win the hearts and minds of the Taiwanese people, or they are going to intimidate the Taiwanese people.”
China’s threats have increased since the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, was elected in 2016. She has repeatedly rejected the idea that the island is part of “one China”.
In 2020, there were 380 incursions by Chinese fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.
Following Chinese encroachment on islands belonging to various Asian countries, Wu said, “The like-minded countries in this part of the world need to be aware of the expansionism of the Chinese government.”
