President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan is committed to working with the rest of the free world to establish a resilient democratic front and promote supply chain security for global prosperity.
The president made the remarks while receiving a delegation from U.S.-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies at the Presidential Office June 15 in Taipei City. The group comprised American and Israeli combat veterans and national security practitioners.
According to the president, peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are key to upholding international order, especially when the expansion of authoritarianism is threating democracy around the world.
Standing on the frontline of democracy, Taiwan has continued to bolster its self-defense capabilities and deepen cooperation with its like-minded partners through various mechanisms, she said.
Tsai said two salient examples are the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, a platform for exchanges with other members of the democratic world; and the Taiwan-U.S. Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, the most comprehensive trade pact between the two sides in 40 years, which saw the first agreement under its auspices concluded earlier this month.
The president also took the opportunity to thank the FDD for publishing numerous articles urging the international community to stand with Taiwan. The country will continue to strive for regional peace and prosperity as a force for good, she added.
In response, Matt Pottinger, head of the delegation and chair of the FDD’s China Program, said Ukraine offers some hard-earned lessons for Taiwan, with the most important one being that deterrence is far preferable to war.
Pottinger said, from what the delegates have seen so far, they believe Taiwan is assembling elements vital to safeguard its peace and security, in the face of China’s militarism and threats.
Pottinger congratulated Taiwan for reinstating a one-year term of mandatory military service, adding that it is a step toward building a culture and ecosystem to enhance deterrence and ensuring that Taiwan remains a guardian at the frontline of free and democratic society. (SFC-E)
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