Leading Taiwanese presidential candidate William Lai conveyed on Thursday he would quicken military transformation to create the armed forces fit and have the potential to deal with conflict, but stay tuned to the goal of making sure that war was an “unthinkable option”. China names Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunited with it, by force if important. Beijing has ramped up its military warnings in opposition to the island, such as by staging war games in April in which it practised blockades and precision strikes.
Taiwan’s vice-president and a candidate for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Mr Lai has consistently led the majority of opinion polls ahead of the January 2024 election. President Tsai Ing-wen cannot be running again after two terms in office. Ms Tsai is keeping an eye on a modernisation programme aimed at “asymmetric warfare” to make the island’s forces more mobile, agile and stronger to attack, while creating longer-range missiles and building secrecy warships and a fleet of drones.
Meeting foreign diplomats in Taipei, Mr Lai said building up Taiwan’s deterrence was key, and pointed to Ms Tsai’s policies, involving greater defence spending. “I will continue to expedite these important reforms, with the understanding that a strong national defence reduces risks of armed conflict,” he said, in comments made available by the DPP. Mr Hou Yu-ih, the presidential candidate of Taiwan’s sole opposition party, said this week he would reverse an addition of compulsory military service set for January, adding that he would comfort problems with China, making the extension unimportant. As premier in 2018, Mr Lai criticised China by telling Parliament he was a “Taiwan independence worker” whose position was that Taiwan was a power, independent nation– a red line for Beijing.