Taiwan will not yield to China's growing coercion: VP Hsiao

Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) Taiwan will not compromise its freedoms or democracy in the face of intensifying Chinese military threats and gray-zone pressure, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in an interview aired Monday, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting this week.

Hsiao made the remarks in an interview with British news channel Sky News about the growing presence and increasingly aggressive conduct of Chinese Coast Guard vessels near Taiwan. The interview aired at around 1:30 p.m. Taiwan time.

"The reality is also that the Communist Party of China claims Taiwan and is coercing us into submission," Hsiao said, adding that military pressure had intensified in recent years.

Asked whether Taiwan should draw a line beyond which it would respond to Chinese gray-zone incursions despite the risks, Hsiao said: "The threat to use force has never been acceptable."

"We will not provoke, but at the same time, we will not yield by compromising our basic freedoms and our democracy," she said.

Taiwan must respond to growing coercion and threats by taking a more dynamic approach to strengthening and fortifying itself, Hsiao added.

Sky News described gray-zone coercion as the gradual normalization of actions that give China an advantage.

An analysis conducted with the Futures Lab at the Center for Strategic and International Studies showed a record Chinese Coast Guard presence in waters near Taiwan's main island in summer 2026.

The estimated daily average number of vessels rose 37.5 percent from summer 2025. East of Taiwan, where Chinese Coast Guard vessels began patrolling for the first time this summer, the figure surged 3,800 percent over the same period.

Sky News described the waters east of Taiwan as strategically vital in a conflict.

Hsu Wei-hung (徐瑋鴻), a coast guard captain who has served for over 20 years, said 2026 was the worst year he had seen, with Chinese vessels appearing on virtually every mission.

He said the vessels increasingly resembled warships and maneuvered and adjusted their speed in attempts to breach Taiwan's defensive lines.

Calling their conduct "a very, very serious act of provocation," Hsu said he would be lying if he claimed not to be concerned.

In response, China's Foreign Ministry said China had an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in waters east of Taiwan under Chinese and international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The ministry described the patrols as legitimate exercises of jurisdiction intended to maintain maritime order and regional stability.