Taiwan intends to fight for itself in any armed conflict with the mainland and is unclear as to what countries might stand beside it, its foreign minister said.
In an interview on Friday with Sky News Australia, Joseph Wu said Taiwan, with a population of 23 million compared to China's 1.4 billion, has to defend itself and is not asking other countries to fight for it.
However, asked who might fight alongside Taiwan in the event of a war, Wu said: "A lot of people are debating strategic ambiguity or strategic clarity, but to us, we know our own responsibility.
"Taiwan has to defend itself, the people have to defend Taiwan, and we are determined to defend ourselves and we are not asking other countries to fight for Taiwan."
US President Joe Biden has repeatedly said American forces would help defend Taiwan, although US policy remains ambiguous.
Asked if Taiwan was destined for war, Wu said, "I certainly hope not."
"The reason is very clear: war means devastation, not just for the one who got attacked but possibly also for other countries as well."
"And therefore, at this moment, even though we see that the tension has been rising and the conflict seems to be more likely and peace is less likely to maintain, but we need to do everything to prevent war from happening," he said.
