Pacific tour aimed at building 'democratic alliances': Lai's office

Taipei, Dec. 8 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) visit last week to Taiwan's three South Pacific allies accompanied by stopovers in United States territory focused on strengthening democratic alliances in the region, the Presidential Office said Sunday.

The Nov. 30 - Dec. 6 tour, organized under the theme "Prosperous Austronesia, Smart Sustainability," included visits to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, as well as stopovers in Guam and Hawaii.

In a statement Sunday, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said Lai's trip was an example of Taiwan "using democratic alliances to engage with the world."

The trip's itinerary linked Taiwan, with its location in the first island chain, to its three diplomatic allies and Guam in the second island chain and Hawaii in the third island chain, she said.

Kuo was referring to terms used to describe the "island chain strategy," a marine containment strategy developed by the United States during the Cold War that has more recently been applied to containing China.

Lai's itinerary and his remarks during the trip focused on three main elements, the first being Taiwan's "international visibility and importance as a country in the first island chain," Kuo said.

In a telephone call during Lai's stopover in Guam, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said Taiwan is at the core of the United States' Indo-Pacific strategy, according to Kuo.

Lai, meanwhile, pledged throughout the trip that Taiwan will put its full efforts into strengthening its defensive capabilities, she said.

Second, the trip showed how Taiwan is seeking to build democratic alliances, including with its South Pacific allies, the United States, Japan and Australia, to jointly maintain regional peace, stability and prosperity, Kuo said.

Amid efforts by China and Russia to break through these "democratic island chains," Lai's trip also showed that the Indo-Pacific has become a "global security community," and that "the Taiwan Strait issue is a joint challenge for global democracies," Kuo said.