A dialogue mechanism must be quickly established in response to high level tensions in the Taiwan Strait. President Tsai Ing-wen made the remarks in an interview published on Tuesday.
In early August, Tsai was interviewed by Japanese digital minister Taro Kono for Libre Magazine, a publication of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Kono says multilateral economic cooperation is essential to realizing an open Indo-Pacific region. For this reason, he hopes his party can help Taiwan join the CPTPP, a major free trade agreement.
Tsai says tensions in the Taiwan Strait over the past few weeks have caused countries in the Indo-Pacific to realize the consequences of an invasion of Taiwan to their countries. Tsai says Taiwan is a center of high-tech manufacturing and sits on a trading link between the southern and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Tsai says Taiwan is facing a great challenge, and if the country’s freedom and democracy are defeated, all countries in the region will be impacted. Because Taiwan cannot face this threat alone, the President says neighboring countries must work together to quickly establish a dialogue mechanism to ensure peace and stability in the region.