Taiwan is not alone, says President Tsai Ing-wen amid growing China threat

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has said she believes if they came under attack from China, the US and other regional democracies would come to their aid.

Tsai made these remarks in a CNN interview, a day after the US endorsed Taiwan's "meaningful" participation in the UN system amid China's continued efforts to limit the independent island's international participation.

"Taiwan is not alone because we are a democracy, we respect freedom and we are peace lovers. And we share values with most of the countries in the region and geographically we are of strategic importance," she told CNN.

As things stand, ties between Taipei and Beijing have dropped down to their lowest point in decades. Earlier this month, China's military sent a record number of warplanes into the air around Taiwan while diplomats and state-run media warned of a possible invasion unless the island toes the CCP line.

Taiwan's President said that the threat from Beijing is growing "every day," and confirmed the presence of American troops on Taiwanese soil for training purposes. Taiwan is a "beacon" of democracy that needed to be defended to uphold faith worldwide in democratic values, she added.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan despite the island's self-governance for over seven decades. Meanwhile, Taipei continues to counter the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US.

"Here is this island of 23 million people trying hard every day to protect ourselves and protect our democracy and making sure that our people have the kind of freedom they deserve," Tsai said.

"If we fail, then that means people that belief in these values would doubt whether these are values that they (should) be fighting for."

Earlier in a major speech this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged "peaceful reunification" between Taiwan and the mainland. Although he made no mention of an invasion in the speech, Xi has previously refused to rule out military action.

Meanwhile, on Taiwan's National Day, in response to growing Chinese military action, Tsai said Taiwan could not be forced to follow "the path China had laid out for it."

(ANI)

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