Taiwan’s president used his National Day speech to defend a record defence budget, saying the aim is to prevent a war, not start one. He said the island is open to exchanges with China but “will not accept subordination”.
Taiwan President William Lai Ching-te has said the island “cherishes peace” but will “not give up our freedom”, Al Jazeera reported.
He was speaking on Saturday, October 10, outside the Presidential Office in Taipei, before thousands of people gathered for National Day.
What Lai Said
“We are open to exchanges but will not accept subordination,” Lai said. “Our aim by increasing investment in national defence is not to provoke; rather, it is to deter war.”
He accused China of continuing to “apply pressure through military and grey-zone activities in an attempt to alter the status quo across the Taiwan Strait”. Grey-zone tactics are actions that stop short of open war.
“Peace cannot rely solely on wishes, and tolerance cannot become a pretext for aggressors to encroach ever further,” he said.
The Defence Budget
Lai’s government has set aside a record 1.1 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($34.5 billion) for defence in 2027. That is more than 3 percent of the island’s gross domestic product.
Taiwan is also waiting for US President Donald Trump to approve $14 billion worth of weapons, including the Patriot air defence system.
Chinese Activity Around the Island
According to Taiwan’s defence ministry, 21 Chinese military aircraft and seven navy ships were operating around Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6am on Saturday.
Thirteen of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which once served as an unofficial boundary between the two sides.
The Background
China insists that Taiwan, home to 23 million people, is part of its territory. It has never renounced the use of force to take the island, calls Lai a “separatist” and has rebuffed his offers of talks.
China held war games around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s first National Day speech in 2024, though not last year. Its most recent drills were in late December, after news of an $11 billion US arms deal, the largest American weapons package for the island.
The US Factor
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing nearly 50 years ago but remains Taiwan’s most important security backer.
Lai said he welcomed talks between Washington and Beijing, but insisted that “there must be respect for the right of the people of Taiwan to exist”.
The Occasion
The holiday marks the 115th anniversary of the 1911 uprising that brought down China’s last imperial dynasty. Fighter jets and two Chinook helicopters carrying giant flags flew over the capital before the speech.
Foreign guests included King Mswati III of Eswatini, Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa.
Image: Taiwan President William Lai Ching-te in October 2024 (file photo). Photo by the Office of the President of Taiwan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
