Taiwan's ex-President Tsai says U.S. should prioritize assisting Ukraine

Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) The United States should focus on providing assistance to Ukraine despite the impact that could have on efforts to help Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at an international security event in Canada on Saturday (local time).

The Americans should "help the Ukrainians" first by supplying weapons because "we [Taiwan] still have time," she said.

Tsai made the comments at the annual Halifax International Security Forum (Halifax Forum) when asked by session host Nick Schifrin to respond to concerns raised by a U.S. Navy's top commander that U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine and Israel were starting to impact its ability to respond to a situation in the Indo Pacific, such as war.

Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday: "Up to this year, where most of the employment of weapons were really artillery pieces and short-range weapons, I had said, 'not at all,'" when asked if the conflicts were hampering U.S. ability to respond to threats in the Indo-Pacific.

"It's now eating into stocks, and to say otherwise would be dishonest," he added.

Tsai told Schifrin that the U.S. should do "whatever they can to help Ukraine."

"We still have time to prepare for ourselves ... Like I said, we still have time. We can also become better prepared, of course, with the help of our friends," she said.

In her speech to the forum before the question/answer session, Tsai called for the democratic world to continue supporting Ukraine, raising concerns that "With domestic political changes and economic pressure, some democracies may have second thoughts or become more willing to compromise."

She contended that an effective deterrence against authoritarian expansionism is "fundamental to safeguarding our democracies and maintaining international order."

"That is why our continued support for Ukraine remains imperative, as a Ukrainian victory will serve as the most effective deterrence against future aggression."

Tsai further said that Taiwan, like Ukraine, faces military threats and therefore defense spending was boosted during her eight years in office.

"Our defense budget has risen by over 80 percent at a rate of nearly 8 percent each year. I want to emphasize that this is well above our average GDP growth of 3.74 percent over this period, (from) 2016 to 2023," the former president said.

In concluding her 20-minute speech, Tsai revealed that HFX, the Washington, DC-based organization that convenes Halifax International Security Forum, was set to hold a session in Taiwan in February 2025.

She invited the attendees of the 2024 event to visit Taiwan to witness "our beautiful scenery, enjoy our culture, and most importantly, to meet our wonderful people, who are so determined and work so hard to protect our hard-earned democracy."

Tsai, who served as Taiwan's first female president from May 2016 to May 2024, is visiting Canada to address the HFX summit and receive the John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service she was awarded in 2021 in recognition of her leadership in defending Taiwan's democracy and standing up against Chinese aggression.

She was unable to visit Canada to receive the award when she was president because Beijing would have likely objected, given that it considers Taiwan part of its territory.

Government and military officials, academic experts and entrepreneurs are attending the 2024 Halifax Forum being held from Nov. 22-24.