Self-Defense Is Not an Act of Provocation
Wen Lii | May 19, 2025
(The Washington Times) — Despite Taiwan’s careful efforts to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, the international community has not been immune to misleading narratives that blame the victim rather than the aggressor, including accusations that portray Taiwan’s necessary defensive measures as “political escalations.”
With the anniversary of President Lai Ching-te’s inauguration Tuesday, it is worth reaffirming Taiwan’s strong and enduring commitment to safeguard regional peace and prosperity by working closely with the United States and other global partners.
In fact, standing firm on Taiwan’s self-defense against Beijing’s stated objective of annexation is not an act of provocation. Neither are actions to improve Taiwan’s legal and institutional measures against China’s mounting espionage attempts.
Defending Taiwan’s democracy against China’s unprovoked aggressions should not be deliberately misconstrued as “pushing the envelope” on Taiwanese independence, especially when Taiwan’s long-standing policy is to uphold the cross-strait status quo.
Instead, these commonsense measures are necessary for the protection of Taiwan, long ranked one of the freest nations in Asia, in the face of China’s persistent military threats and other incremental forms of coercion.
Mr. Lai’s proposal of 17 strategies to combat Chinese espionage and infiltration represents such efforts. In fact, the president’s remarks focused on necessary institutional reforms without elaborating on issues related to Taiwan’s international status. These proposed reforms include reinstating a military trial system for active-duty military personnel.
The usage of “foreign hostile force” is based on its objective legal definition from Taiwan’s 2020 Anti-Infiltration Act. The term is defined as “countries, political entities or groups that are at war with or are engaged in a military standoff” with our nation. With more than four years of implementation, identifying China’s threats through the lenses of the Anti-Infiltration Act is hardly unprecedented.
Many proposed reforms have been spurred by multiple espionage cases in Taiwan’s military and government. In 2024, two-thirds of such investigations centered on active-duty and retired military personnel. The number of prosecuted individuals has tripled since 2021, indicating the rise of China’s espionage activities. Policy staffers within the government and legislature have been similarly detained.
These incidents highlight the need for Taiwan to engage in serious reflections about the shortcomings of its existing institutions. Taiwan needs assistance from global partners on concrete solutions, not finger-pointing.
Labeling the president’s policies as “antagonizing” is inaccurate and echoes Beijing’s talking points to obstruct urgently needed measures on strengthening Taiwan’s anti-espionage measures, which undoubtedly protect the shared interests of Taiwan and its international partners.
Since Mr. Lai’s inauguration last year, he has made clear that Taiwan is committed to being a responsible stakeholder in the region.
This has been achieved through Taiwan’s willingness to invest more in its security to ensure peace from a position of strength. Taiwan’s defense spending has nearly doubled since 2016. Its commitment is also grounded in the president’s steady and principled leadership on cross-strait issues, neither engaging in provocations nor bowing to pressure.
Over the past year, Mr. Lai has repeatedly reaffirmed the cross-strait status quo through unambiguous references to the Republic of China constitutional framework and a publicly stated willingness to engage in cross-strait dialogue based on parity and dignity.
On the other hand, Beijing’s military provocations have not been limited to the Taiwan Strait, with large-scale drills across the entire Western Pacific as far as waters near Australia.
Since Taiwan has firmly maintained the status quo, deliberate distortions have sought to seek evidence of “provocations” in Taiwan’s objective descriptions of Chinese threats.
These ill-informed arguments also tend to strip Taiwan of any agency or motivation to maintain peace. In fact, Taiwan understands more than any other country the high stakes involved for Taiwan and the global economy.
History has shown the world that appeasement invites aggression. Taiwan is committed to avoiding those mistakes. Contrived attacks that portray Taiwan’s actions to defend itself as destabilizing are efforts to absolve the aggressor of responsibility. They also fail to address China’s provocations and expansionist ambitions.
This will ultimately lead to a far more dangerous outcome for the international community. To the people of Taiwan, surrendering our freedom is simply not an option.
