Lai concludes South Pacific tour, urges Beijing to work toward regional peace

Ngerulmud, Palau, Dec. 6 (CNA) Wrapping up a South Pacific tour on which he highlighted the value of democracy, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Friday he remained cautious of the increasingly volatile regional situation and called on Beijing to work toward peace.

"There have been some gatherings among certain countries in the Indo-Pacific that are a cause for concern," Lai said at a news conference in Palau, the last stop of his first overseas trip as president.

He went on to say that activities such as the deployment of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine and joint military drills between China and Russia had destabilized the region.

The president emphasized that Taiwan's national security team had been closely monitoring these developments in collaboration with partner countries, stressing that "the more nations gather for dangerous acts, the more united democratic countries shall be."

At the same time, he called on Beijing to "return to the rule-based international order" and contribute to the region's peaceful development.

Conducting military drills or deploying vessels and aircraft will never earn China the respect of other countries, Lai said. "Rather than raising their fists, [Beijing] should open their arms."

Apart from these calls, however, Lai said he was not naive about the situation, especially as several media outlets had reported that China might launch a new round of military drills near Taiwan in the coming days, using his overseas trip and transit through United States territory as a pretext.

"The people of Taiwan have the right" to engage with the world, Lai said. "Exchanges with the international community to foster greater understanding and cooperation... should not be treated as an act of provocation by an authoritarian regime."

Beijing has criticized Lai's South Pacific tour, which included stops in Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Guam, urging Washington to not allow the Taiwanese president to transit through U.S. territory, even though such arrangements were not a first.

The president added that Taiwan's military had a full grasp of China's military movements in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific and was well prepared to ensure national security.

The trip, he said, was focused on "consolidating [Taiwan's] relations" with its three remaining diplomatic allies in the Pacific, where China has ramped up efforts in recent years to poach Taiwan's allies and expand its influence.

During his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) eight-year tenure, the country lost three Pacific allies, namely the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru, to China, with Nauru's severance of ties taking place just two days after Lai was elected president in January.

On the other hand, the weeklong trip, which will end later on Friday, has also provided Lai with an opportunity to engage with several players in Washington.

While in Hawaii and Guam, Lai spoke directly via phone or video conferencing with key figures in the U.S. Congress who voiced their continued bipartisan support for Taiwan, including incumbent and former U.S. House speakers Mike Johnson and Nancy Pelosi.

He also spoke with Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who is poised to chair the Senate Committee on Armed Services next year.

Recalling his conversations with U.S. lawmakers, as well as meetings with officials from Hawaii and Guam and representatives from the American Institute in Taiwan's (AIT) Washington office, Lai described Taiwan's ties with its "international friends" as "rock solid."