Taiwanese President William Lai will persistently use more pro-sovereignty rhetoric to boost global support for Taiwan, risking more Chinese military drills that weaken already dim prospects for cross-strait diplomatic engagement and deepen Western military engagement in the Indo-Pacific to deter Chinese aggression. During an Oct. 5 event commemorating Taiwan's upcoming National Day, President Lai gave a speech in which he asserted Taiwan -- officially named the Republic of China (ROC) -- was a ''sovereign and independent country'' that will celebrate its 113th anniversary on Oct. 10, whereas the People's Republic of China (PRC) just celebrated its 75th anniversary on Oct. 1. Lai then went on to claim it was ''absolutely impossible'' for the PRC to be the motherland of the ROC because the former was younger than the latter, adding that the ROC may actually be the motherland of the PRC. Lai is due to give another speech on National...
