President Tsai Ing-wen said Aug. 30 that Taiwan will continue promoting peace, stability and prosperity while working with like-minded countries in pursuing a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Rapid changes in the region underscore the need for closer communication among key stakeholders, Tsai said. Such engagement deepens friendships, strengthens partnerships and creates requisite conditions for effectively addressing emerging challenges, she added.
Tsai made the remarks while receiving U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson; retired Adm. James G. Stavridis, ex-NATO supreme allied commander Europe; and Nadia Schadlow, former deputy national security adviser for strategy under the administration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, at the Office of the President in Taipei City.
The trio was in country for the Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue held earlier the same day in Taipei. Organized by think tanks The Prospect Foundation of Taiwan, Center for a New American Security of the U.S. and Sasakawa Peace Foundation of Japan, the seminar involved nearly 200 top experts from Taiwan, Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. discussing issues of mutual concern.
According to Tsai, China is intensifying efforts to suppress Taiwan’s international space. These include influencing the East Asian Olympic Committee into stripping Taichung City in central Taiwan of the 2019 East Asian Youth Games, pressuring airlines to change the country’s website designation and sending military aircraft to encircle the island.
China is threatening cross-strait peace and risking serious global instability, Tsai said, adding that the government refuses to bow to such pressure and will keep engaging closely with the U.S. in advancing common goals.
Tsai also took the opportunity to thank Johnson, Stavridis and Schadlow for supporting Taiwan, singling the lawmaker out for praise after she traveled from Dallas to Houston to see the president during a stopover in the U.S. city as part of her nine-day state trip to allies Paraguay and Belize in South and Central America, respectively.
The visit of these three friends demonstrates that the Taiwan-U.S. relationship enjoys broad-based support, Tsai said, adding that she anticipates more exchanges and interactions between the two sides going forward. (SFC-E)
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