No War, Only Defence Against "Troublemaker" China, Says Taiwan Defence Minister
NDTV
U.S. President Joe Biden has upset the Chinese government with comments that appeared to suggest the US would defend Taiwan if it were attacked.
Taiwan is not seeking war with Beijing, and its policy is to build up a defensive, multi-level deterrence capability to make it harder for China to capture the island, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Monday.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has faced a stepped-up military and political pressure campaign from Beijing to accept sovereignty claims that the government in Taipei rejects.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Sunday said that China views the annexation and "elimination" of Taiwan as its great national cause, telling Taiwanese military cadets not to give in to the defeatism of "the first battle is the last battle", a theory that Taiwan could collapse as soon as China launched an attack.
