Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Four days after Double Ten National Day, China announced a new round of military exercises around Taiwan titled “Joint Sword-2024B.” As the name implies, Monday’s exercises are a follow-up to its “Joint Sword-2024A” exercises in May, which were ostensibly a response to the content of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration speech, but, as the title suggests, were intended to routinize large-scale military exercises around Taiwan.

International observers in general viewed Lai’s National Day speech as restrained and measured.

“Lai’s speech demonstrated restraint, refraining from breaking new ground, repeating well-known positions,” Council on Foreign Relations research fellow David Sacks said.

The US “strongly supports” Taiwan to enhance its whole-of-society resilience, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, Taiwan and Mongolia Michael Chase said at the Global Taiwan Institute’s annual symposium in Washington on Wednesday, adding that the Legislative Yuan should approve the Executive Yuan’s military budget in favor of “Taiwan’s military defense modernization.”

“Taiwan must be able to deter, degrade and delay potential Chinese aggressions,” even though a cross-strait conflict is neither imminent nor inevitable, Chase said in his closing remarks.

“We support Taiwan’s military in its efforts to acquire asymmetric [warfare] capabilities that are low-cost, mobile, distributed, resilient and lethal,” he said.