We have to ‘fight together to prevent war,’ Taiwan’s Lai says in US – World News

HONOLULU

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in the United States on Sunday 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.

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.

Washington is Taipei’s most important partner and biggest provider of weapons, but maintains a “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to putting boots on the ground to defend the island from China.

Speaking at a dinner in the U.S. island state of Hawaii, Lai said there were “no winners” from conflict and “we have to fight, fight together to prevent war.”

Lai earlier received a standing ovation as he walked down a red carpet for the gathering with U.S. government officials, state politicians, members of Congress and Taiwanese expatriates.

He said the U.S. flag and Hawaii state flag given to him as a gift “symbolize the longstanding friendship between Taiwan and the United States and lays the foundation for further cooperation in the future.”

The chairperson of the American Institute in Taiwan, the body that serves as the de facto U.S. embassy, said the partnership between Washington and Taipei was “rock solid.”

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