During a new interview with CNN, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu condemned China’s recent simulated “joint precision strikes” on Taiwan during military exercises around the country, warning that China seems “to be trying to get ready to launch a war against Taiwan.”
“Look at the military exercises, and also their rhetoric, they seem to be trying to get ready to launch a war against Taiwan,” Wu said, according to CNN. “The Taiwanese government looks at the Chinese military threat as something that cannot be accepted and we condemn it.”
When asked about US intelligence assessments that China is likely to invade Taiwan by 2027, Wu expressed confidence in Taiwan’s preparedness.
“Chinese leaders will think twice before they decide to use force against Taiwan. And no matter whether it is 2025 or 2027 or even beyond, Taiwan simply needs to get ready,” he said.
Over the weekend, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted military exercises around the Taiwan, which “simulated joint precision strikes on key targets on Taiwan Island” and in the surrounding waters, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
It later said in a statement that it had completed the military exercises and “comprehensively tested joint combat capabilities of its integrated military forces under actual combat situation.”
“Forces in the command is ready for combat at all times, and will resolutely destroy any type of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist or foreign interference attempts,” the statement added.
China described the drills as “a serious warning against the Taiwan separatist forces’ collusion with external forces, and a necessary move to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
