China Won't Renounce Force to Deal With Taiwan 習近平稱不放棄武統 邱國正:持續建軍備戰

General Secretary of the CCP Xi Jinping said in a speech at the 20th National Congress that China will never renounce the option to use force to take Taiwan. In response, National Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said the military will not change its conduct just because the other side says something.

The cross-Strait situation remains tense. The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party opened on Oct. 16. General Secretary of the CCP Xi Jinping said in a speech that China will never renounce the option to use force to take Taiwan. On Oct. 18, National Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said China has never renounced the option to use force to resolve the Taiwan problem, and the military won't change its conduct just because the other side says something. Taiwan will continue to build up the military and prepare for war. Chiu also spoke about the definition of "first strike," saying that a first strike is considered to be any incursion by a Chinese aircraft into Taiwan's territorial airspace, and Taiwan will shoot down the aircraft if it can.

Chiu Kuo-cheng, National Defense Minister: “Any countermeasure we take is called a self-defense counterattack. That's the definition. (Will it be shot down?) If we can, then we will, because they initiated this first strike. How about we define it like that? It won't happen so fast, because there are combat procedures to follow when switching from peacetime to wartime.”

Chinese incursions into Taiwan's airspace have been normalized, and the number of times the Taiwan Strait's median line has been crossed has increased. Taiwan's Air Force has been forced to keep sending fighters into the air as a countermeasure, using up great quantities of fuel. However, the amount allocated for fuel procurement in the national defense budget for 2023 is only 79 percent that of 2022. Chiu responded to concerns that this will affect the capabilities of fighters, saying the military will not slash the budget because of a hostile situation. 

Chiu Kuo-cheng, National Defense Minister: “It is my understanding that a sum of money was used to procure fuel last year and the fuel is in storage. That's why we were able to slightly lower the fuel budget for this year.”

The KMT sent a congratulatory message to the CCP over the opening of its congress. Mainland Affairs Minister Chiu Tai-san said he respects how political parties handle foreign affairs.

Chiu Tai-san, Mainland Affairs Minister: “Political parties should be careful if they are not friendly to Taiwan or don't meet the expectations of the people.”

Chiu Tai-san said Taiwan is a free, democratic, and open country, and political parties should be careful about diplomatic gestures that aren't friendly to Taiwan.

兩岸局勢緊張，中共召開二十大，總書記習近平宣稱對台不承諾放棄武力。國防部長邱國正18日表示，中共從來沒有放棄用武力解決台灣問題，國軍絕對不會因為對方任何一句話就改變作為，會持續建軍備戰。對於外界關切第一擊的定義，邱國正重申，只要中共航空器逾越我方界線，就視為第一擊，能打下來就打下來。

國防部長邱國正說：「我們做的任何一個反制，都叫自衛反擊，就這樣界定。」並表示能打下來就打下來，「因為這第一擊他發起的，好不好，我們界定這樣。不會那麼快，我們作戰平常轉換、平戰轉換，它有一定程序。」

針對中共軍機擾台常態化、逾越海峽中線次數激增，空軍戰機疲於升空反制，加速油料消耗。不過，明（2023）年國防預算在戰機燃油採購量卻不增反減，只有今年的79%，可能嚴重影響戰機應對能力。對此邱國正強調，國軍不會因為敵情嚴峻，反而砍預算。

國防部長邱國正指出：「據我了解，去年有一筆錢買了油料，儲備在那邊。所以今年我們整個來調的話，這油料就可以稍微少一點。」

此外，國民黨在中共召開二十大，發電賀表達祝賀，挨轟被中共矮化，陸委會主委邱太三回應，尊重政黨外交。

陸委會主委邱太三認為：「相對的政黨，如果有一些對台並不是那麼友善，或者是並不符合國民期待這樣一個會議的話，那可能各政黨自己要小心注意。」

邱太三表示，台灣是自由、民主、開放的國家，卻也提醒政黨外交若對台灣不友善，各政黨要小心注意。