TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) on Thursday (June 6) said if Chinese military forces enter Taiwan's territory, the armed forces will exercise the right of self-defense.
Koo made his first appearance as defense minister at the Foreign and National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan on Thursday. During the session, Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Wang Hong-wei (王鴻薇) posed questions about the military's “first strike” policy and right to self-dense.
When asked by Wang to provide his definition of first strike, Koo said, “Only the Communist Army could launch a first strike on us, we exercise the right to self-defense.”
He said regulations for exercising the right to self-defense are based on "an attack by the People's Liberation Army on our military aircraft, ships, or facilities, an attack on our main or outlying islands, or any unauthorized entry of flying objects into our 12-nautical-mile (22.2km) airspace and territorial waters."
In such circumstances, Koo said the military will be ordered to exercise the right of self-defense and launch “proportional counter-attacks.”
Wang inquired about the recent Joint Sword 2024A military exercise conducted by the PLA around Taiwan.
Koo said he would not publicly disclose when the military became aware of the PLA's exercises. He added the military continues to monitor the PLA's movements, and he could not rule out the possibility of further exercises targeting Taiwan.
