Tsai Ing-wen: "If Taiwan's Defense Fails, Asia Faces a Catastrophe"

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is reviewing a military unit in Tainan, southern Taiwan, last January. (Photo by AP)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen stated on the 5th that a failure to defend Taiwan would be a catastrophe for Asia, and she would do whatever it takes to stand against China.

This was a firm response to China’s deployment of the largest number of military aircraft ever into the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) during the National Day holiday, conducting an aerial military demonstration.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong on the 5th, President Tsai wrote in an article published in the American foreign affairs journal Foreign Affairs that "if Taiwan falls to China, it would cause a catastrophe."

President Tsai emphasized, "We must remember that if Taiwan collapses, the result would be a disaster for regional peace and the democratic alliance system," adding, "It would mean that authoritarianism is superior to democracy in the global competition of values."

She warned, "Failure to defend Taiwan would not only be a disaster for the Taiwanese people but would also overturn the security structure that has enabled peace and economic development in this region for 70 years."

She further stated, assuming that Taiwan hopes for peaceful coexistence with China, "If Taiwan’s democracy and way of life are threatened, we will do whatever it takes to defend ourselves."

Additionally, she urged China to cease provocative actions. President Tsai stressed, "Although the Chinese military intrudes almost daily, our stance on cross-strait relations remains unchanged," and "Taiwan will not succumb to pressure."

The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense announced the previous day that 52 Chinese military aircraft had violated Taiwan’s ADIZ. This is the largest scale of Chinese military aircraft intrusion into the ADIZ to date. The Chinese military deployed 34 J-16 fighter jets, known as their main combat aircraft, along with 2 SU-30 fighter jets, 2 Y-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft, 2 KJ-500 early warning aircraft, and 12 H-6 bombers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.