Lai thanks Canada for supporting peace in Taiwan Strait

Taipei, Jan. 13 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Tuesday thanked the Canadian government for expressing its opposition to China's recent military drills around Taiwan.

Lai made the remarks while receiving opposition Conservative Canadian parliamentarians Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Adam Chambers and Melissa Lantsman, who is also the party's co-deputy leader.

"I would like to thank the Canadian government for issuing a public statement expressing its concern over China escalating tensions with its recent large-scale military exercises, and stating its opposition to unilaterally changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait," Lai said.

The president was referring to a statement Canada issued on Jan. 2, a few days after China ended its drills in the airspace and waters around Taiwan.

Lai stressed that Taiwan is taking concrete steps to demonstrate to the international community its commitment to self-defense, including raising its defense budget to over 3 percent of the country's GDP and setting a 2030 goal to further increase it to 5 percent.

He also thanked Canada for its long-term support of Taiwan, noting that many Canadian parliamentarians participated in the compilation of a 2023 report on Taiwan-Canada relations published by the House of Commons Special Committee on the Canada-People's Republic of China Relationship, which included 18 recommendations on supporting Taiwan's international participation.

Lai also pointed to the foreign investment promotion and protection arrangement, and the science, technology and innovation arrangement, signed in 2023 and 2024, respectively, which he said speak to growing bilateral economic and technological exchanges.

He called on efforts to finalize a Taiwan-Canada economic cooperation framework to be expedited to further expand bilateral economic exchanges.

Lantsman praised Taiwan for continuing to make meaningful contributions to the international community despite continued exclusion and isolation, according to a press release issued by the Presidential Office.

For many years, numerous lawmakers from across party lines have voiced concern over the growing threats faced by both Taiwan and Canada, including transnational repression, economic coercion and state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, she said.

Lantsman noted that Taiwan is facing increasing authoritarian pressure on the international stage and that Canada opposes the normalization of intimidation, military coercion and the use of force to alter international norms.

Engagement with Taiwan's civil society will be crucial in exposing and deterring these threats, and parliamentary diplomacy will play a key role in such joint efforts, she said.

The meeting occurred after Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier in the day said that two Liberal delegation members, Helena Jaczek and Marie-France Lalonde, issued a joint statement on Monday, indicating that they would cut their visits to Taiwan short, following advice from the government.

Their departure came shortly before Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China from Jan. 13-17, the first by a Canadian Prime Minister in 8 years, during which he is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).

"It's important that we avoid confusion with Canada's foreign policy, given the overlap with the Prime Minister's engagement in Beijing, which was only confirmed last week," according to the statement obtained by Reuters.