By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan will build a new multi-layered air defence system called “T-Dome” to defend itself against enemy threats and increase defence spending, President Lai Ching-te said on Friday, calling on China to renounce the use of force to seize the island.
Democratically governed Taiwan has faced increased military and political pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory over the strong objections of the government in Taipei.
Taiwan is ramping up defence spending and modernising its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles.
TAIWAN TO WEAVE DEFENCE SAFETY NET
Lai said in his National Day address that Taiwan is determined to spend more on defence, and would propose a special budget for military spending by the end of the year, showing the government’s determination to protect the island.
“The increase in defence spending has a purpose; it is a clear necessity to counter enemy threats and a driving force for developing our defence industries,” he said.
“We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defence system in Taiwan with multi-layered defence, high-level detection, and effective interception, and weave a safety net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens,” Lai said, to applause from the crowd.
THE T-DOME
He did not give details about “T-Dome” in his first public mention of the system. Reuters reported on Thursday he would unveil the “T-Dome”, which one source said would aim to be like Israel’s Iron Dome.
A senior presidential office official told reporters that the “T-Dome” spending plans would be included in the budget proposal to come by the end of the year.
“We are hoping to build a more thorough air defence net with a higher interception rate,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that countries like the United States are also building similar systems.
Taiwan’s existing air defence systems are primarily based around the U.S.-made Patriot and the Taiwan-developed Sky Bow missiles.
Taiwan unveiled its latest air defence missile last month at a major arms show in Taipei, called Chiang-Kong, which is designed to intercept mid-level ballistic missiles and reach airspace higher than the Patriots.
CHINA ANGERED
Responding to the speech, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that “seeking independence by force” would only drag Taiwan into conflict.
“He peddles the separatist fallacy of Taiwan independence,” Guo told reporters in Beijing. “This once again exposes his stubborn nature as a troublemaker, creator of danger and a war-maker.”
China, which held war games around the island in response to his speech last year, says Lai is a “separatist” and has rebuffed his offers of talks.
Lai added that China should renounce the use of force or coercion to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, and that Taiwan will work to ensure peace and stability.
“Looking back at World War Two, we see that so many experienced the suffering of war and the pain of invasion. We should learn from these lessons and ensure that the tragedies of history are never repeated,” Lai said.
China said it will “unite the Taiwan compatriots” against separatism and foreign interference, calling “reunification” the path to maintaining peace and stability, state broadcaster CCTV cited a spokesperson for its Taiwan affairs office as saying.
A U.S. administration official said that the United States welcomed Lai’s commitment to increase defence spending and comments on ensuring peace and stability.
“We’re not going to speculate on how Beijing might react. But our general policy is that we don’t think routine speeches should be used as a pretext for taking any sort of coercive or military action,” the official said.
Taiwan’s National Day is held on the anniversary of a 1911 uprising that led to the overthrow of China’s last imperial dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China.
The Republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists, and the Republic of China remains the island’s formal name.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Joe Cash and Liz Lee in Beijing; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Michael Perry)
