The Taiwanese president's latest policy efforts to safeguard sovereignty and root out Chinese influence will drive China to rely more on economic and military coercion, but these efforts do not make a Chinese invasion more likely. On April 1 and April 2, China conducted two rounds of military exercises around Taiwan, including live-fire drills 300 kilometers (approximately 185 miles) north of Taiwan and blockade drills around Taiwan's key ports and energy import terminals. A spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said the drills were in direct response to a press conference on March 13 by Taiwanese President William Lai in which he pledged to protect Taiwan's sovereignty from China by more closely scrutinizing cross-strait ties. Lai also asserted that China's actions against Taiwan qualify it as a "foreign hostile force" as defined in Taiwan's Anti-Infiltration Act, presaging more punitive action. That was the latest policy move taken by Lai's...
