Taiwan's Lai calls for national unity, bolstered defenses against China

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Tuesday stressed Taiwan's need for strong defense capabilities and national unity against what he called Beijing's attempts to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, including by increasing military incursions.

"Peace comes from the resolve to resist aggression and the strength to defend ourselves," Lai told a gathering of military personnel, including several high-ranking officers in Taipei, describing the current security situation for Taiwan as "increasingly severe."

In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has sought to alter the cross-strait status quo by sending military aircraft and vessels near Taiwan for high-intensity operations, while engaging in gray-zone tactics and cognitive warfare against Taiwan, Lai said.

China's actions are "not only a threat to Taiwan's democracy and freedom, but also a challenge to the democratic world," he said.

His comments were made a day before Chinese authorities are scheduled to hold a grand military parade in Beijing on Wednesday to mark the end of World War II after Japan's surrender, with leaders of Russia, North Korea, and Iran reportedly attending.

Taiwan's president highlighted the importance of social solidarity and preparedness, both in military and societal terms, noting that only by cultivating these qualities can "we truly safeguard our nation's sovereignty and democracy."

He outlined his administration's measures over the past year to improve servicemen's salaries and benefits while boosting defense spending and investments, as part of broader efforts to strengthen military capabilities.

He also thanked military officers, particularly those tasked with guarding Taiwan amid Chinese incursions and sorties near the country's airspace and territorial waters, for "shouldering the responsibility of defending the survival and development of the Republic of China (Taiwan)."