By AFP and Focus | 2025-05-27

Taiwan is prepared to talk to China as equals, President Lai Ching-te said on May 20, while reaffirming his administration's commitment to bolster the island's defenses.

"We are willing to communicate with China if there is parity and dignity," Lai said while marking his first anniversary in office.

He called for replacing hostility with communication, adding that Taiwan hopes to "substitute confrontation with dialogue, and containment with exchanges."

As a staunch defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and detested by Beijing, Lai also stressed the need "to prepare for war to avoid war," pledging stronger defense capabilities and deeper international cooperation.

Though Lai called peace "priceless," he also reminded the public not to harbor illusions.

Taiwan will "actively cooperate with international allies, shoulder to shoulder to exert the power of deterrence, to prepare for war to avoid war, and to achieve the goal of peace," he said.

In a sign of softened rhetoric, China's Taiwan Affairs Office responded the same day without its usual personal attacks on Lai, referring to him instead as the "Taiwan region leader."

Spokesperson Chen Binhua reiterated Beijing's stance, saying it was "willing to engage in dialogue" but only "on the basis of the one-China principle", which asserts Taiwan is part of China.

At the same time, Chen slammed Lai's "separatist position" and accused him of promoting economic "decoupling" across the strait, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

China, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it, has held several rounds of large-scale military drills around the island since Lai took office.

It most recently conducted amphibious drills on the morning of May 20.

CCTV footage showed armored vehicles from the People's Liberation Army's 73rd Group Army -- a frontline unit based in Xiamen -- plunging into coastal waters off southern Fujian, the province nearest to Taiwan.

Soldiers in orange life vests drove the tanks around floating obstacles, the roughly minute-long montage showed, backed by an operatic instrumental score.

"Soldier is our identity, training is our daily routine," said one member of the Chinese brigade, adding that "we are always ready to fight."

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported detecting 15 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels operating around the island in the 24 hours leading up to May 21.

China's drills were "routine" and "scheduled", and there was "no impact on the security of surrounding sea and airspace", the ministry said in a statement.

Divisions within

Since taking office last year, Lai has faced not only military coercion from Beijing but also deepening political gridlock at home.

According to an April survey by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation, Lai's approval rating fell to 45.9%, down from 58% a year ago.

His disapproval rating reached 45.7% -- the highest since taking office -- attributed in part to his administration's handling of US tariffs and a controversial DPP-led recall campaign against opposition politicians.

The main opposition Kuomintang party (KMT) has called Lai a "dictator" and accused him of pushing Taiwan closer to war with China, while Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suggests the KMT is a tool of Beijing.

Observers warn that such domestic divisions could embolden Beijing.

"The only beneficiary of a divided, fractured Taiwan that is incapable of addressing its own long-term requirements and vulnerabilities is China," said Ryan Hass, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

"The more divided and dysfunctional Taiwan looks within, the easier it is for Beijing to make its case directly to the people of Taiwan," Hass added.

Facing a legislature controlled by the opposition KMT, Lai has sought to defuse tensions and said his national security team would begin delivering "important" briefings to the opposition.

While the KMT was skeptical, it acknowledged this was "a small step" and urged Lai to take a bolder one to end what it called "judicial persecution and political hatred."

Despite the turmoil, Lai has chalked up some domestic successes since taking office, said David Sacks, a fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Among them, raising public awareness about the Chinese threat to Taiwan, and pledging to increase the island's defense budget to more than 3% of GDP.