The PRC continues employing a combination of military, diplomatic, legal, and economic approaches toward Taiwan to serve its purposes of intimidation, attempting to weaken our international position, changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and preventing third-party intervention. In the last few years, it has frequently initiated military incursions and gray zone tactics as its coercion activities toward Taiwan. Numerous nations have publicly stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, showing the growing concern of the security situation in the Taiwan Strait from the international community.
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PRC’s Legal Warfare to Extend Control around Taiwan Strait
The PLA continues engaging in provocative actions around Taiwan and our offshore islands by sending aircraft and vessels that intentionally cross the median line of the Taiwan Strait, approaching 24 nm off the Taiwan shorelines. These activities are intended to nullify the Taiwan Strait as international waters and exclude the norms of international law, thereby impeding all nations from the freedom of navigation and overflight in the Taiwan Strait.
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Taiwan Strait Peace and Stability Vital to Global Development
Standing on the very front line against the expansion and intrusion of an authoritarian communist regime, the ROC (Taiwan) is a linchpin in the high-tech semiconductor supply chain, serves as a model of freedom and democracy in the Indo-Pacific region. Our nation resides at the center of the First Island Chain which serves as a critical conduit for global maritime commerce and international flights, demonstrating our geopolitical significance. Any crisis in the Taiwan Strait would entail severe worldwide consequences. Maintaining unimpeded air and sea passage through the Taiwan Strait is therefore crucial for global prosperity and development.
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PRC Gray Zone Activities
Recently, the PRC has initiated multiple gray zone activities such as aerial and maritime incursions, cyberattacks, and cognitive warfare operations, attempting to test and deplete our readiness and training results, and ratchet up the psychological intimidation against Taiwan.
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Growing International Attention towards Taiwan Strait Security
To show the support for the freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait, the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand have sent naval vessels to traverse this waterway, demonstrating an international consensus against unilateral changes to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. The US and the international community have responded with growing attention to PRC’s potential military recklessness in the Strait, while regional democracies are strengthening coordination and cooperation to deter the potential aggressor. At this critical moment, where both challenges and opportunities coexist, we must strive to secure and leverage international support. By making concrete contributions, we can become a trusted partner around the globe, cooperating with international partners to jointly confront global challenges and safeguard regional security.