TAIPEI — A senior Taiwanese national security official pushed back Tuesday against the idea that Taiwan’s military readiness efforts amount to provocation, saying the island’s people must take the threat from China seriously and begin preparing without delay.
China considers Taiwan to be part of its own territory, despite the island being democratically governed, and has never ruled out using military force to bring it under Beijing’s authority. Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels operate in the skies and waters surrounding Taiwan on a daily basis.
Taiwan’s government rejects China’s claim of sovereignty over the island and has been steadily increasing its defense budget. Regular civil defense exercises are also being conducted as part of what President Lai Ching-te describes as a whole-of-society resilience strategy.
Lin Fei-fan, deputy secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council and the official overseeing the resilience program, addressed a forum in Taipei and pointed to China’s enormous defense spending and persistent military pressure in the region as genuine dangers that cannot be ignored.
“People often portray Taiwan’s preparations as provocation toward the other side,” Lin said. “I want to take this opportunity to tell everyone: all of China’s preparations have one clear goal — military aggression and external expansion.”
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication. Beijing regularly accuses President Lai of being a “separatist” and blames him for rising tensions. Chinese officials maintain that their military activities are intended to defend Chinese sovereignty and security.
Lin drew a sharp contrast between the actions of Beijing and those of Taipei, pointing out that Taiwan does not send its own aircraft or warships into Chinese airspace or territorial waters.
“A country that advocates ‘the two sides of the strait are one family’ does not need to test-fire missiles and rockets in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “Taiwan today does not fly a single aircraft or send a single warship to intrude into the other side’s airspace or waters. The one provoking the regional order is not anyone else — it is China.”
Lin also cautioned against complacency, warning that observers should not look at the ongoing war in Ukraine and assume a similar conflict could never unfold in Taiwan. He stressed that government-led efforts to prepare citizens for a potential crisis are essential.
“If we do not act today, strength will not suddenly appear tomorrow,” he said. “If we do not conduct drills today, when a crisis arrives, we may not even know the most basic standard operating procedure.”
Lin concluded by saying that peace would come immediately if China abandoned its military ambitions toward Taiwan — but warned that the alternative is far more dire.
“But if Taiwan now gives up its ability to defend itself, there will no longer be a Taiwan in the world,” he said.
