Taiwan strengthens deployments in South China Sea, gets US nod for submarine parts

Taiwan's defence minister said on Wednesday thatit has strengthened deployments in the disputed South China Sea and that the United States has approved the export of sensitive technology to equipTaiwan's new submarine fleet.

China, which claims democraticTaiwanas its own territory, has increased its military activity near the island in recent months seeking to pressure Taipei to accept Beijing's sovereignty.Taiwanhas vowed to defend itself.

Speaking in parliament, Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, who took up his post last month, saidTaiwanhas increased personnel and armaments on Itu Aba, the main islandTaiwanoccupies in the South China Sea.

Itu Aba, also known as Taiping island, is the largest naturally occurring island in the Spratleys and is garrisoned byTaiwan's Coast Guard.

"They are capable of starting a war," Chiu told the parliament when asked by a lawmaker on whether China could attackTaiwan. "My goal is for us to be ready at all times."

Chiu saidTaiwanwas bolstering its position there due to China's "expansionism" in the region, though it was not currently considering a return to a permanent army garrison.

China has built man-made islands in the South China Sea and air bases on some of them. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have competing claims in the strategic waterway.

Separately, Chiu said that the United States had approved export permits for all of the sensitive equipment needed byTaiwan's indigenous submarine fleet, which it started building last year.

He added thatTaiwan's arms purchases from the United States - the island's main source of weapons - had not been impacted by the new Biden administration taking office in Washington and were continuing.

Taiwanis modernising its armed forces, especially as it face almost daily challenges from China in the airspace and waters near the island, including frequent Chinese air force missions intoTaiwan's air defence identification zone.

Chiu said these missions were part of China's war of attrition againstTaiwan, whose forces are dwarfed by Beijing's, and defence forces were already adjusting on how to deal with such incursions, though did not give details.

"If we match them one for one, it costs a lot," he said.

In response,Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the country hopes that the United States will abide by the 'one-China' policy after it grantedsubmarine approval forTaiwan.

Before leaving Tokyo, Secretary of State Blinken accused Beijing of acting more repressively at home and "more aggressively abroad", citing its activities in the East and South China Seas and towardsTaiwan.