Taiwan's President Lai calls for unity in face of China 'threat'

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te said Tuesday "a threat from China to any country is a threat to the world", emphasizing to lawmakers of more than 20 countries that global democracies must unite against "authoritarian expansion".

China has in recent years stepped up military and political pressures on democratic Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.

While Taipei officially only has a dozen diplomatic allies, it has strengthened partnerships with democracies around the world -- especially the United States, its largest weapons provider -- as Beijing ups the rhetoric of unification being "inevitable".

On Tuesday, Lai attended a summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) -- a group of parliamentarians hailing from Uruguay and Canada to Japan and Britain concerned about how democracies interact with Beijing.

Praising the 49 lawmakers from 23 countries and the European Parliament for making the journey to Taipei, Lai said the delegation demonstrates "the importance and support" that various countries have for Taiwan.

"They send a crucial message to democratic partners worldwide: democracy requires unity and protection," he said.

"I want to emphasize that a threat from China to any country is a threat to the world. Taiwan will do everything to join democratic partners to uphold the umbrella of democracy, (and) protect democratic nations from the threat of authoritarian expansion."

Lai, who took office on May 20, is regarded by China as a "dangerous separatist" for his staunch defence of Taiwan's sovereignty.

Three days after he was sworn in, China launched war games, encircling the island with fighter jets and naval vessels, as a "punishment" for Lai's inauguration speech which Beijing said was a "confession of Taiwan independence".

Lai has repeatedly made overtures for dialogue with Beijing -- severed after his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen came into office in 2016 for her stance that Taiwan is not part of China.

But like Tsai, he has also maintained that the island must be united in ensuring its sovereignty by building up its defence capabilities, as China maintains a near-daily military presence by deploying warships, fighter jets and drones around Taiwan.

Lai reiterated Tuesday that Taiwan must "prepare for war to avoid war, and achieve peace through strength".

"We are also willing to take dialogue instead of confrontation with China, and take exchanges instead of containment based on the principle of mutual respect and dignity, to reduce conflicts and achieve peace and stability," he said.

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian called on the lawmakers in IPAC to "abandon their ideological prejudices (and) stop using the Taiwan question to interfere in China's internal affairs".

He also blasted efforts by "the Lai Ching-te regime to 'achieve independence by force'" as "futile".

"You will never be able to hold back the great historical trend of China's inevitable and inexorable unification," Lin said.