appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Kawala Xie

The US urged “restraint” from both sides of the Taiwan Strait amid speculation over mainland China’s military response to Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s upcoming speech to mark the self-governing island’s Double Tenth Day.
A senior official of US President Joe Biden’s administration said Beijing could use Lai’s speech on Thursday as a “pretext” for taking military action in the Taiwan Strait.
“We see no justification for a routine annual celebration to be used in this manner,” the official said in a background call with the press on Wednesday.
“A cause of action like this against Taiwan and in the cross-strait context, in our view, undermines cross-strait peace and stability.
“We’ll be calling on both sides to aggregate restraint and consistent with long-standing norms,” the official added.


Lai, who was inaugurated in May after winning election earlier this year, will deliver his first speech on Thursday celebrating the Double Tenth Day, which marks the founding of the Republic of China.
The Republic of China was founded in mainland China in 1912, following the fall of the Qing dynasty. Taiwan has used the Republic of China as its official name since the Kuomintang fled to the island in 1949 after being defeated by the Communist Party in China’s civil war.
Lai’s speech is expected to call for “national unity” and strengthening the island’s international status, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency.
The Biden official said Taiwan briefed its “diplomatic partners” about the speech.
As Beijing regards Lai as a “stubborn separatist”, the speech is expected to infuriate mainland authorities.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Three days after Lai’s inauguration, Beijing launched two days of intensive drills in the strait.
Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

On Wednesday, the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office lashed out at Lai for “escalating hostility” in response to his claim that “the Republic of China may very well be the motherland of people [aged] above 75 in the People’s Republic of China”.
The Biden official’s statement came after Reuters, quoting intelligence sources from Taiwan, reported that the mainland could use Lai’s remarks as a reason to launch military drills around the island this week.
China has shown that it possesses enhanced military “capabilities” in the Indo-Pacific region through its drills, the official added: “Not just in the cross-strait context but also in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, the number of assets that China has, the exercises it is undertaking, the extent of its operations, have increased over time.”
The US and China are fierce rivals in the region. Beijing conducted a military drill in the contested South China Sea on its national day on October 1, following a joint exercise by navies of the US, the Philippines, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The Biden official did not answer a question on whether Washington thought Beijing would weigh its military options based on the close timing between Lai’s October 10 speech and the US presidential election set for November 5.
Meanwhile, both US presidential candidates have been grilled about Taiwan recently while on the campaign trail.




In an interview with the American news programme 60 Minutes on Monday, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris dodged a question about whether the US would use its armed forces to defend Taiwan.
The incumbent vice-president said she would not “get into hypotheticals” while repeating the official US stance of supporting a “one-China policy”.
“We need to make sure that we maintain our one-China policy, but that includes supporting Taiwan’s ability to defend itself … we need to make sure we have open lines of communication with China, in particular military-to-military,” Harris said.
In response to Harris’ comments, the campaign of her Republican rival for the White House, former president Donald Trump, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that his opponent was “completely clueless” and “dangerous”.
When asked the same question in July, Trump replied that he would ask Taiwan to pay the US for its defence.
China has repeatedly warned the US that Taiwan is the “first red line” not to be crossed in Sino-American relations amid the Biden’s administration continuing arms sales to the island.


Xi confirms 2 more meetings with Trump this year at Apec, G20 summit

Xi presses Trump to take the next step on Taiwan: oppose independence

Trump’s warm welcome for Xi met with caution and uncertainty in Taiwan

The Chinese roots of ‘gung-ho’ as Trump and Xi look to shared history

Taiwan

US urges restraint from mainland China and Taiwan ahead of island leader’s speech

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te waves during his inauguration ceremony in Taipei on May 20. Photo: EPA-EFE

A Taiwanese coastguard vessel on patrol near the maritime boundary between Taiwan and mainland China in May. Photo: EPA-EFE

Mainland China accuses Taiwanese leader William Lai of escalating hostility

William Lai Ching-te at an event to mark the founding of the Republic of China. Photo: CNA

Antony Blinken to discuss South China Sea and Ukraine at Asean summit

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed to Laos for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Photo: Reuters

Daniel Kritenbrink, the US State Department’s assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs. Photo: EPA-EFE

Blinken with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi before a September 27 meeting in New York. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Kamala Harris silent on China, says no to direct talks with Putin: 60 Minutes interview

The rare solo interview with US Vice-President Kamala Harris on Monday night did not touch on China-related topics. Photo: CBS

US Vice-President Kamala Harris with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the Apec Leaders’ Retreat in Bangkok on November 19, 2022. Photo: Reuters

Stars’ National Day messages for mainland China spark cross-strait controversy

Taiwanese actor Wu Kang-ren in a still from “Abang Adik”, the acclaimed Malaysian film which was released in mainland China last month. Photo: Golden Scene

Taiwanese singer Chiao Anpu, formerly known as Deserts Chang, with her song of the year trophy at last year’s Golden Melody music awards in Taipei. Photo: AFP

PLA stages National Day drill in South China Sea in wake of 5-nation exercise

Undated photo of an exercise conducted by the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command. Photo: weixin.qq.com

News

China

Diplomacy

Military

World

United States & Canada

Knowledge

Topics

China's military

US-China Relations

Concern swirls that William Lai Ching-te’s remarks at annual celebration could prompt Beijing to justify taking cross-strait military action


Concern swirls that William Lai Ching-te’s remarks at annual celebration could prompt Beijing to justify taking cross-strait military action.


US urges restraint from mainland China and Taiwan ahead of island leader’s speech

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Concern swirls that William Lai Ching-te’s remarks at annual celebration could prompt Beijing to justify taking cross-strait military action

Concern swirls that William Lai Ching-te’s remarks at annual celebration could prompt Beijing to justify taking cross-strait military action