Photo/Illutration Taiwan's armed forces hold two days of routine drills to show combat readiness ahead of Lunar New Year holidays at a military base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Jan. 11, 2023. (REUTERS)

TAIPEI--China has been using every possible means to cause “chaos,” a Taiwan source said ahead of a keynote speech on Thursday by President Lai Ching-te, as the island reported more Chinese warplanes in the run-up.

Lai, who took office in May after winning election in January, is detested by China which calls him a “separatist,” Beijing claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a view Lai and his government reject.

An official briefed on the wording of Lai’s speech, describing the context around it, said Taiwan is in a “complex situation” and that China continues to harass the island militarily and psychologically.

China continues to suppress Taiwan’s “international space” and uses every way possible to cause “chaos,” the official said, adding Lai will pledge to follow his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen’s path and responsibly maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

China is likely to launch military drills near Taiwan in response to Lai’s speech as a pretext to pressure the island to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials say.

China’s military operates on an almost daily basis around Taiwan and regularly stages what Taiwan refers to as “joint combat readiness patrols,” including on Wednesday ahead of Lai’s speech.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had detected 20 Chinese military aircraft to the north, center and southwest of the island, working with Chinese warships.

China’s defense ministry did not answer calls seeking comment outside of office hours, but earlier on Wednesday reiterated its opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan after the Biden administration approved $567 million in further defense support.

“What needs stressing is that arming Taiwan is encouraging Taiwan independence, and Taiwan independence means war,” the ministry said, echoing previous language it has used.

“INDEPENDENCE FALLACY”

Late Tuesday, responding to comments Lai gave at the weekend on how it is “impossible” for the People’s Republic of China to become Taiwan’s motherland because Taiwan has older political roots, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said he was confusing right from wrong.

Lai continues to peddle a theory that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are two separate countries, it said in a statement.

“Lai Ching-te’s Taiwan independence fallacy is just old wine in a new bottle, and again exposes his obstinate stance on Taiwan independence and his sinister intentions of escalating hostility and confrontation,” it added.

National day in Taiwan marks the overthrow of the last Chinese dynasty in 1911 and the ushering in of the Republic of China.

The defeated republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists.

The Republic of China remains Taiwan’s formal name, and no peace treaty or armistice has ever been signed.

In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said they could not speculate on what China would or would not do in response to Lai’s speech, which takes place outside the presidential office in central Taipei.

“However, it is worth emphasizing that using routine annual celebrations or public remarks as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive measures undermines peace and stability,” the spokesperson said.

China has also been carrying out a series of other drills in recent weeks, including operations with Russia in the Western Pacific and test firing an intercontinental ballistic missile last month.

Lai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future and has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing but been rebuffed.

China staged “punishment” war games around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s May inauguration.

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