Taiwan vows to defend sovereignty after Chinese military exercises

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te said on Thursday that the island was determined to defend its sovereignty and strengthen its defences in the face of China's growing expansionism, after Beijing fired missiles towards the island as part of military exercises.

The international community is watching to see whether the Taiwanese people have the resolve to defend themselves, Lai said in a New Year's address broadcast live from the presidential office in Taipei.

"As president, I have always taken a clear stance: resolutely defending national sovereignty and strengthening national defense," Lai said, noting that China has targeted Taiwan's newly added combat capabilities as a "hypothetical enemy" in its exercises this week.

He said this demonstrates the need to increase defense procurement, and urged opposition parties to support his plan to increase Taiwan's defense spending by $40 billion, a proposal that is currently stuck along with other issues in a political stalemate in the opposition-controlled parliament.

(reuters, su)