Ahead of China's war parade, Taiwan president says aggression will fail

2/9/2025 13:28

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday that aggression will inevitably fail, pointing - on the day before a mass military parade in Beijing - to the lessons from World War Two and key victories Taiwan claims against Chinese forces in 1958.



Democratically governed Taiwan has over the past five years repeatedly complained about heightened Chinese military activity including war games around the island as Beijing steps up pressure to enforce territorial claims the government in Taipei rejects.



Chinese President Xi Jinping, flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, will oversee a large-scale military parade in Beijing on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.



Speaking to officers at the defence ministry, Lai noted that Tuesday marked the 67th anniversary of a 1958 naval battle Taiwan celebrates as a victory that was part of the August 23 Chinese attack on the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands, better known internationally as the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis.