KINMEN, Taiwan: Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te visited an island off China on Friday for the 75th anniversary of a victory over communist forces, days after China and Taiwan held military drills in sensitive waters separating the two.
Lai’s trip to the Kinmen islands, a few kilometers from the Chinese mainland, follows a fortnight of intense military activity in the Taiwan Strait.
Lai, who took power in May and has been more outspoken than his predecessor in defending Taiwan’s sovereignty, attended a somber ceremony for the Battle of Guningtou and shook hands with veterans.
China’s Communist Party has never ruled democratic Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island as part of its territory and has said it will never renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.
The dispute between Beijing and Taipei dates back to a civil war between Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist forces, which fled to Taiwan in 1949 following their defeat.
The nationalists scored a key victory over the communists in the Battle of Guningtou on the Kinmen islands, which Taiwan still controls along with the Matsu islands next to China.
China has ramped up military and political pressure on Taiwan in recent years as it seeks to browbeat Taipei into accepting its claims of sovereignty over the islands.
Beijing’s large-scale war games around Taiwan on October 14 were followed by live-fire drills near the island on Tuesday, and the transiting of a Chinese aircraft carrier group through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
Taiwanese troops conducted live-fire drills on Penghu island in the waterway on Thursday, days after a US and a Canadian warship sailed through the narrow passage.
Taiwan president visits island off China for battle anniversary
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Taiwan president visits island off China for battle anniversary
- Lai Ching-te’s trip to the Kinmen islands follows a fortnight of intense military activity in the Taiwan Strait
- China’s Communist Party has never ruled democratic Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island as part of its territory
EU should consider forming combined military force: defense chief
- Kubilius floated creating a “powerful, standing ‘European military force’ of 100,000 troops” that could eventually replace US forces
- Trump has heightened fears among NATO allies over Washington’s reliability by insisting he wants to take over Greenland
BRUSSELS: EU countries should weigh whether to set up a combined military force that could eventually replace US troops in Europe, the bloc’s defense chief said Sunday.
EU defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius floated creating a “powerful, standing ‘European military force’ of 100,000 troops” as a possible option to better protect the continent.
“How will we replace the 100,000-strong American standing military force, which is the back-bone military force in Europe?” he asked in a speech in Sweden.
The suggestion comes as US President Donald Trump has heightened fears among NATO allies over Washington’s reliability by insisting he wants to take over Greenland.
Worries over Trump’s commitment to Europe have already spurred countries to step up efforts to bolster their militaries in the face of the threat posed by Russia.
Ideas about establishing a central European army have floated around for years but have largely failed to gain traction as nations are wary of relinquishing control over their militaries.
The US has pushed its European allies to increasingly take over responsibility for their own security, and raised the prospect it could shift forces from Europe to focus on China.
“In such times, we should not run away from the most pressing questions on our institutional defense readiness,” said Kubilius, a former Lithuanian prime minister.
In his speech Kubilius also advocated for the creation of a “European Security Council” of key powers — including potentially Britain — that could help the continent take decisions over its own defense quicker.
“The European Security Council could be composed of key permanent members, along with several rotational members,” he said.
“In total around 10-12 members, with the task to discuss the most important issues in defense.”
He said the first focus of such a body should be trying to change the dynamics in the war in Ukraine to ensure that Kyiv does not end up losing.
“We need to have a clear answer — how is the EU going to change that scenario?,” he said.
“This is the reason why we need to have a European Security Council now!“
