Former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday his ongoing visit to Taiwan was a show of “strong support” for the country’s self-determination, freedom, and democracy.

Speaking during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (???) in Taipei, Rasmussen said he was “here in Taiwan to show my strong support for your rights to decide the future of Taiwan yourselves; I am here to show my strong support for your rights to exist in freedom and peace.”

Rasmussen was speaking in his capacity as the founder of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation (AoD), a Denmark-based organization seeking to advance democracy and free markets worldwide.

The former Danish prime minister, who served as NATO secretary-general from 2009 to 2014, arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday for a three-day trip from January. 3-5.

He said the world’s democracies represented 60 percent of the global economy and that if they worked together, they could be “a formidable force” to such autocratic nations as Beijing.

“Taiwan is a solid democracy belonging to the family of the world’s democracies,” he said, adding that he looked forward to discussing with Tsai how to “further strengthen the bonds between Taiwan and Europe.”

Meanwhile, Tsai said Taiwan would continue boosting the country’s national defense in response to the challenges of authoritarian expansionism and seeking more cooperation with democratic allies to contribute to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific.

The president added that the government’s plans to extend compulsory military service from four months to one year and roll out reforms to intensify the troops’ training were part of efforts to strengthen Taiwan’s defense capability.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel