Camille Naredo

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the Republic of China (ROC) Military Academy during the academy's 100th anniversary ceremony in Kaohsiung on June 16, 2024. Sam Yeh, AFP/File

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the Republic of China (ROC) Military Academy during the academy's 100th anniversary ceremony in Kaohsiung on June 16, 2024. (Photo by Sam Yeh / AFP)

Article (news)

TAIWAN

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1733045879600AFP__20240616__34WZ84D__v1__HighRes__TaiwanDefenceMilitaryAnniversary.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the Republic of China (ROC) Military Academy during the academy&#x27;s 100th anniversary ceremony in Kaohsiung on June 16, 2024. Sam Yeh, AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the Republic of China (ROC) Military Academy during the academy&#x27;s 100th anniversary ceremony in Kaohsiung on June 16, 2024. <em>Sam Yeh, AFP/File</em></span></span></span>HONOLULU, United States -- Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in the United States on Saturday that we have to &quot;fight together to prevent war&quot;, as he kicked off a week-long tour of the Pacific that has sparked fiery rhetoric from Beijing.</div><p>Taiwan faces the constant threat of a military attack by China, which it considers part of its territory and regularly deploys fighter jets and warships around the self-ruled island to press its claims.</p><p>Washington is Taipei&#x27;s most important partner and biggest provider of weapons, but maintains a &quot;strategic ambiguity&quot; when it comes to putting boots on the ground to defend the island from China.</p><p>Speaking at a dinner in the US island state of Hawaii on Saturday, Lai said there were &quot;no winners&quot; from conflict and &quot;we have to fight, fight together to prevent war.&quot;</p><p>Lai earlier received a standing ovation as he walked down a red carpet for the gathering with US government officials, state politicians, members of Congress, and Taiwanese expatriates.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2024/12/1/-red-carpet-treatment-taiwan-s-lai-feted-during-us-stop-on-pacific-trip-1436">READ: Taiwan&#x27;s Lai feted during US stop on Pacific trip</a></div><p>He said the US flag and Hawaii state flag given to him as a gift &quot;symbolise the longstanding friendship between Taiwan and the United States and lays the foundation for further cooperation in the future.&quot;</p><p>The chairperson of the American Institute in Taiwan, the body that serves as the de facto US embassy, said the partnership between Washington and Taipei was &quot;rock solid&quot;.</p><p>&quot;The opportunity for you to engage with thought leaders, the diaspora&#x27;s community and state and local leaders is invaluable, and I know will contribute to further strengthening the rock solid US-Taiwan partnership,&quot; Laura Rosenberger said in a pre-recorded video played at the dinner.</p><p>Like most countries, Washington does not recognize Taiwan diplomatically but maintains close unofficial ties.</p><p>Beijing opposes any international recognition of Taiwan and its claim to be a sovereign state and especially bristles at official contact between the island and the United States.</p><p>In a statement, China&#x27;s foreign ministry said it &quot;strongly condemns&quot; the United States for Lai&#x27;s stopover and that it had &quot;lodged serious protests with the US&quot;.</p><p>&quot;China will closely follow the developments and take resolute and strong measures to defend our nation&#x27;s sovereignty and territorial integrity,&quot; it said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2024/11/28/china-vows-to-resolutely-crush-taiwan-independence-attempts-1924">READ: China vows to &#x27;resolutely crush&#x27; Taiwan independence attempts</a></div><p>Lai, who is travelling abroad for the first time since taking office in May, was welcomed with red carpets, flower garlands and &quot;alohas&quot; as he began the two-day stopover in Hawaii.</p><p>Looking relaxed in a Hawaiian shirt, Lai flitted around, visiting a Pacific island history museum, an emergency management centre and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbour.</p><p>On his arrival, he was given the &quot;red carpet treatment&quot; on the tarmac of Honolulu&#x27;s international airport, according to his office, which said it was the first time a Taiwanese president had been given such a welcome.</p><p>He was met by Ingrid Larson, managing director in Washington of the AIT, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, and others.</p><p>Taiwanese government officials have previously stopped over on US soil during visits to the Pacific or Latin America, angering China, which has sometimes responded with military drills around the island.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;We are all Team Taiwan&#x27; -</strong></div><div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAEyze-tm4MR6kEa&amp;cid=ABRJzsvimHTDL1Rp&amp;activation=click&amp;vip_mode=playing&amp;vip_position=bottom-right"></script></div><p>After Hawaii, Lai will visit Taiwan&#x27;s allies the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau -- the only Pacific island nations among the 12 countries that recognize Taiwan&#x27;s claim to statehood -- and stop over for one night in the US territory of Guam.</p><p>Lai said shortly before take-off in Taipei that the trip &quot;ushered in a new era of values-based democracy&quot; and thanked the US government for &quot;helping to make this trip a smooth one&quot;.</p><p>He said he wanted to &quot;continue to expand cooperation and deepen partnerships with our allies based on the values of democracy, peace and prosperity.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I once again emphasize that we are all Team Taiwan. We all work together, and we can successfully achieve our goals,&quot; Lai told reporters on board the plane.</p><p>An AFP journalist is travelling with the president for the duration of the trip.</p><p>In a swift response to news of Lai&#x27;s trip on Thursday, Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China&#x27;s defense ministry said: &quot;We firmly oppose official interaction with China&#x27;s Taiwan region in any form&quot; and vowed to &quot;resolutely crush&quot; any attempts for Taiwan independence.</p><p>Lai&#x27;s trip follows the US approval on Friday of a proposed sale to Taiwan of spare parts for F-16s and radar systems, as well as communications equipment, in deals valued at $385 million in total.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2024/11/30/us-approves-385-million-arms-sales-to-taiwan-1637">READ: US approves $385 million arms sales to Taiwan</a></div><p>The Taiwan president&#x27;s trip comes as Republican US President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in January.</p><p>During his campaign, Trump caused jitters by suggesting Taiwan should pay the United States for its defense.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in the United States on Saturday that we have to "fight together to prevent war", as he kicked off a week-long tour of the Pacific that has sparked fiery rhetoric from Beijing.</p>

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in the United States on Saturday that we have to "fight together to prevent war", as he kicked off a week-long tour of the Pacific that has sparked fiery rhetoric from Beijing.

We have to 'fight together to prevent war', Taiwan's Lai says in US

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We have to 'fight together to prevent war', Taiwan's Lai says in US

Agence France-Presse,

Akio Wang

Published Dec 01, 2024 06:16 PM PHT

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