Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te urged China on Friday to "unclench its fists" and not take any unilateral actions, saying ahead of expected Chinese war games around the island that Beijing would not win any respect for military drills.
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te urged China on Friday to "unclench its fists" and not take any unilateral actions, saying ahead of expected Chinese war games around the island that Beijing would not win any respect for military drills.
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, is expected to launch another round of exercises in response to Lai's trip to the Pacific, which has included stopovers in Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam, according to security sources.
Speaking to reporters in the Pacific Islands nation of Palau on the final day of his tour, Lai said he hoped China, which has condemned his visits to the United States, would return to the rules-based international order.
"It's better to open your hands than to clench your fists. Only by doing so can China win respect from the international community," Lai said in comments carried live on Taiwanese television.
"No matter how many military drills China stages and how many ships and aircraft they dispatch to intimidate regional countries, China will not win the respect from any country," he added, urging Beijing to stop "unsettling and regrettable" unilateral actions.
Asked about possible Chinese drills, Lai said Taiwan's engagement with the world "should not be used by authoritarian countries as an excuse for provocation".
Taiwan's government has a full grasp of the security situation in the region and has made the "best preparations" to ensure the security of the Taiwan Strait separating the island from China, he said.
Beijing detests Lai, branding him a "separatist", and has rejected multiple offers of talks by him.
Lai rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future and that Taiwan has a right to engage with the rest of the world.
Lai reiterated that while Taiwan wants engagement with China, he cannot have any illusions about peace and that Taiwan must continue to strengthen its defences.
Peace is priceless and there are no winners in a war, he added, repeating comments he made in Hawaii after visiting a memorial to the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
China has staged two rounds of war games around Taiwan so far this year, one in May shortly after Lai's inauguration and another in October following his national day speech.
In Guam on Thursday, Lai spoke with U.S. congressional leaders, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, ahead of Donald Trump returning to the White House on Jan. 20.
Trump unnerved Taiwan during the U.S. presidential campaign, saying the island "should pay us for defence" and that Taiwan had taken virtually all of the U.S. semiconductor industry's business.
Lai said Taiwan enjoys strong bipartisan support in the United States and that he was optimistic that he can deepen ties with the incoming U.S. administration.
"Taiwan is confident that we can continue to deepen cooperation with the new U.S. government and resist the expansion of authoritarianism."
Day 6 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics brought fans and photographers unforgettable moments of athleticism, determination and sheer joy. Fro...
U.S. border chief Tom Homan said on Thursday (12 February) a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota will end after months of raids that led to mor...
Russia’s car market is continuing to receive tens of thousands of foreign-brand vehicles via China despite sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-s...
Norwegian police searched the homes of former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland on Thursday (12 February) as part of an ongoing investigation into all...
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has chosen his teenage daughter as his successor, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday....
China will offer firm support for "patriotic pro-reunification forces" in Taiwan and strike hard against "separatists", the top Chinese official in charge of policy towards the democratically-governed island said on Tuesday (10 February).
“Having a good security relationship with the United States is of utmost importance for the Japanese as a whole,” said Professor Seijiro Takeshita of the University of Shizuoka, highlighting the strategic stakes ahead of Japan’s national election.
U.S. President Donald Trump held an “excellent” phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, (4 February), to discuss trade, energy, Taiwan, Iran, and Russia’s war in Ukraine, ahead of Trump’s planned visit to Beijing in April.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday (7 January), that significant progress has been made in restoring trust with China. He also reiterated that relations with Japan are equally important for Seoul’s diplomacy amid shifting regional dynamics.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held an official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, marking the start of high-level talks between the two NATO allies.
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader said on Tuesday that negotiations with the United States must remain focused on the nuclear issue and be grounded in realism, as Washington and Tehran prepare to resume talks mediated by Oman.
James Van Der Beek, who rose to fame as Dawson Leery in the hit teen drama Dawson’s Creek, has died aged 48 following a battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said a bridge project linking Canada’s Ontario province with the U.S. state of Michigan would contribute to cooperation between the two countries.
The suspect in a deadly school shooting in western Canada was an 18-year-old woman who allegedly killed her mother and stepbrother before attacking her former school. Investigators have not provided a motive for what is being described as one of the worst mass killings in Canada.
Plans for sweeping constitutional changes in Kazakhstan have sparked controversy, with civil society representatives accusing the authorities of rushing reforms without sufficient transparency or a clear public mandate.
Azerbaijan’s State Security Service has filed charges against a group of people accused of belonging to a criminal network alleged to have attempted to forcibly seize state power. It's claimed they tried to alter the constitutional structure, with the support of foreign intelligence agencies.
Afghanistan’s Health Minister has urged urgent action to strengthen domestic polio diagnostics and expand healthcare for returnees and vulnerable communities, pressing international partners in Kabul for faster, fully funded support as the country faces mounting strain on its health system.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has firmly ruled out any discussion of the country’s ballistic missile capabilities in the newly resumed, Oman-mediated negotiations with the United States, stating they are not and will never be on the agenda.
Türkiye and Greece signalled renewed political will to ease long-standing tensions during high-level talks in Ankara on Wednesday (11 February). Maritime borders, migration and trade topped the agenda as both leaders struck a cautiously optimistic tone.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment