TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called on democracies in the Indo-Pacific to “join forces” to maintain regional stability in a speech marking the island’s National Day on Saturday, as the territory remains a source of tensions between the U.S. and China.

He also said Taiwan welcomed dialogue between China and the U.S. to manage their competition and reduce the risk of conflict and war but pointed out that maintaining peace requires a correct understanding of history.

“There must be respect for the right of the people of Taiwan to exist,” he said. “Democracies in the Indo-Pacific must join forces to ensure the status quo of peace and stability in the region is not changed.”

Taiwan has faced growing military and political pressure from China, which views the island democracy as a breakaway province to be retaken by force if necessary. In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, that he hoped the U.S. would adhere to “the correct position of opposing ‘Taiwan independence’” during his visit to Washington.

Lai said China has exerted pressure in an attempt to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and the island’s “resolve” is not just about its own survival in the face of “authoritarian expansion.” It’s also about whether the international community still believes that force cannot override rules, he said.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when a civil war brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan. The island has operated with its own government since then.

China has pressed Washington to halt arms sales to Taiwan, most prominently during a May summit in Beijing between Trump and Xi. After that meeting, a record $14 billion arms package to the island stalled.

Lai said Taiwan’s increased defense investment is aimed at deterring war, not about provocation.

“We are strengthening our self-defense not to abandon dialogue, but to ensure that dialogue can take place on the basis of parity and dignity,” he said.

He added Taiwan cherishes peace, but it will not give up its freedom.

Taiwan’s defense ministry reported 21 Chinese military aircraft and seven navy ships operating around Taiwan in a 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. Saturday, with 13 of the aircraft crossing the median line in the Taiwan Strait and entering the island’s air defense identification zone.

Foreign guests, including Eswatini King Mswati III and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith of Indiana, offered their congratulations in Taiwan, Lai’s office said. Eswatini is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa. A Japanese parliamentary delegation also visited the island and joined the national day celebration activities.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi infuriated Beijing last November by saying a hypothetical Chinese military action against Taiwan would amount to a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan that would justify Japanese troop engagement.

The national day celebration marks the establishment of the Republic of China, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911 and relocated to Taiwan as Mao Zedong’s Communists swept to power on the mainland during the civil war in 1949.

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Leung reported from Hong Kong.