Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said the island is determined to defend its sovereignty and boost its defence in the face of China's increasing expansion, after Beijing fired rockets towards the island as part of military drills.
The international community is watching to see whether the Taiwanese people possess the resolve to defend themselves, he said in a New Year's speech broadcast live from the presidential office in Taipei.
"As president, my stance has always been clear: to resolutely defend national sovereignty and strengthen national defence," he said, noting China had targeted Taiwan's newly added combat capabilities as a "hypothetical adversary" in their drills this week.
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Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Thursday that the island is determined to defend its sovereignty and bolster its defence in the face of China’s growing assertiveness, after Beijing fired rockets towards Taiwan during military drills.
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He urged opposition parties to support his proposal to increase Taiwan’s defence spending by $40 billion, a plan currently stalled amid a political deadlock in the opposition-controlled parliament.