Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Friday said that Taiwan would not give up an inch of its territory as he visited the Kinmen islands off the coast of China.

Lai was speaking at an event marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over communist forces in the Battle of Guningtou that saw the Kinmen and the Matsu islands fall under the control of Taiwan.

What Taiwan's president said

"[We] will not yield an inch of ground in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu to firmly defend our homeland," Lai said during an address in which he referred to the islands controlled by Taipei.

"The Battle of Guningtou lets us understand that democracy and freedom should not be taken for granted, but require the joint efforts of generations to defend them," Lai said.

Lai did not name China by name but said that "any external forces" would not be allowed to change the future of the islands.

Taiwan's leader told veterans and family members that the October 1949 Battle of Guningtou "represents our determination to protect our country."

China sees democratic Taiwan as its territory and maintains that the use of force to bring the island under its control is not off the table.

The Kinmen and Matsu islands

The Kinmen and Matsu islands lie close to China's coast but are under the control of Taipei.

Taiwan has controlled the islands since the defeated Republic of China (ROC) government fled to Taipei in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, which ended up forming the People's Republic of China (PRC).

The Kinmen battle was a rare victory for Chiang Kai-shek's forces in the closing days of the Chinese civil war.

Kinmen is home to a large Taiwanese military garrison and Taiwan's coast guard patrols its waters.

China conducted military exercises around Taiwan earlier this month which it said were a warning to "separatist acts."

kb/wd (AFP, Reuters)