KEELUNG, Taiwan 鈥� Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited a naval base on Monday to thank sailors and marines for their dedication to protecting the island amid renewed threats from China, vowing not to allow the loss of 鈥渁ny single inch" of territory.
In remarks during her visit to the 131st Flotilla in the northern port of Keelung, Tsai said the bravery of servicemembers 鈥渄emonstrated the determination of Taiwan鈥檚 national armed forces to defend the sovereignty of our country.鈥�
鈥淲e can鈥檛 yield any single inch of our land,鈥� Tsai said.
Tsai's tough talk comes amid stepped-up Chinese military exercises and near-daily incursions by Chinese military aircraft into airspace close to Taiwan. China claims the island, which broke away amid civil war in 1949, as its own territory and threatens to use its massive military to bring it under Beijing's control.
China accuses Tsai and other members of her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party administration of undermining security in the Taiwan Strait. Beijing cut off contacts over her refusal to recognize the island as a part of China and has sought to pressure her through diplomatic isolation and economic measures.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday also demanded the Biden administration in the United States reverse former President Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥渄angerous practice鈥� of showing support for Taiwan, saying China鈥檚 claim to the self-governing island democracy is an 鈥渋nsurmountable red line.鈥�
Following Wang's remarks, the U.S. State Department expressed concern about Chinese attempts to intimidate Taiwan, stating 鈥淥ur support for Taiwan is rock-solid.鈥�
Separately, Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China's
Tsai has made boosting Taiwan鈥檚 indigenous
The Associated Press
