'If China dares to launch an invasion of Taiwan then..': Taiwanese MP hits out at Beijing over military drills

If Chinese navy forces invade Taiwan's territorial seas while Beijing conducts military drills off the island's coast, it would be considered an invasion, Taiwanese parliamentarian Wang Ting-yu said.

Ting-yu, a member of Taiwan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committees, remarked that the island values democracy, freedom, and human rights, which gives it the confidence and strength to deal with any external danger.

"We don't want a military conflict. But if China dares to launch an invasion of Taiwan, then they will pay the price they cannot afford," Ting-yu warned.

"China shot 11 missiles towards Taiwan in three different locations a little far away from the island. This is for the first time since 1996, China launched missiles towards Taiwan. The situation is tense but we are confident that the situation is under control," he added.

"The Chinese military threat is real, concrete and huge. No matter who visits Taiwan, China uses its military to threaten us every day," Ting-yu said, adding that even before Nancy Pelosi's visit, Chinese aircraft crossed the island's air defence zone.

A Chinese military incursion within 10 miles of Taiwan's coast would almost certainly trigger defense measures from Taiwan's Ministry of Defense, raising the potential of a miscalculation leading to military conflict.

On Wednesday, Chinese military expert Zhang Xuefeng told the Chinese party-affiliated Global Times that China has sovereignty over the island and that Taiwan's territorial seas are also China's territorial waters.

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