Security of Europe, Indo-Pacific 'inseparable': Lai

Taipei, Nov. 15 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) highlighted Friday how closely Europe and the Indo-Pacific are tied together, especially with autocracy on the rise.

"The security and stability of Europe and the Indo-Pacific have become inseparable," Lai said during a meeting with a Danish delegation led by parliamentarian Pia Kjærsgaard at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Friday.

At the same time, Lai said, "the expansion and convergence of authoritarian nations are posing a grave challenge to the rules-based international order."

Peace across the Taiwan Strait will be consequential to global security and prosperity, the president said, adding that his government "is committed to maintaining regional peace and stability and to protecting the values of freedom and democracy."

Lai also lauded Denmark as a "global leader" in the offshore wind power industry, and said Taiwan looked forward to expanding collaboration with the Nordic country in the field.

In her brief remarks, Kjærsgaard, who served as speaker of the Danish parliament from 2015 to 2019, said the delegation was aware of "how much threatening" Taiwan had received from China.

"I can assure you that ... you can count on us. You can count on our support [for Taiwan]," she said while underscoring the importance of safeguarding the shared values of democracy.

The former speaker, 77, is making her ninth visit to Taiwan since 1987 with parliamentarians Kim Aas, Steffen Larsen, and Mikkel Bjørn, and political advisor Henrik Thorup, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

The cross-party delegation, which arrived in Taiwan on Nov. 11 and will wrap up its visit on Friday, is the first parliament group from Denmark to visit Taiwan since the global outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, MOFA said.