President Tsai Ing-wen is seeking support for participation in NATO-affiliated educational organizations in three Baltic countries on the Russian border. Tsai addressed the issue on Thursday while meeting with lawmakers from the three countries, all of whom are chairs of the foreign affairs committees of their respective legislatures. The chairmen, Marko Mihkelson of Estonia, Žygimantas Pavilionis of Lithuania, Rihards Kols of Latvia, were received at the Presidential Office Building.
In a speech, Tsai says that Taiwan has much in common with the three countries, including an authoritarian past and a transition to democracy. She says that the countries now face similar concerns such as expanding authoritarianism on their borders, and cybersecurity threats. Tsai expressed her admiration for the three countries’ efforts to support Ukraine in its struggle to defend its democracy.
Tsai also expressed her hope that the chairmen would support Taiwan’s participation at the NATO Centers of Excellence (COEs) in their respective countries, which focus on cybersecurity, strategic communications, and energy security.
Mihkelson in a speech says that the three countries and Taiwan are all beacons of democracy facing a large and aggressive authoritarian neighbor on their borders. He adds that they all understand the difficulties in protecting freedom and should work together to address these challenges.