TAIPEI -- As China turns up the military heat on Taiwan, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on a trip to Taipei that global democracies should stand "shoulder to shoulder" with the island.
Speaking at a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Abbott said he hoped his trip would "help to end the isolation from which Taiwan has been suffering for so many decades" and be the start of many future visits.
"Taiwan is in many respects a model for the wider world, certainly a model for so many countries in this part of the world because over the past 70 years Taiwan has transformed from an impoverished dictatorship into a vibrant, dynamic, pluralist democracy," Abbott said. "Of course not everyone and not everywhere is pleased with Taiwan's progress and I do note that Taiwan is challenged on an almost daily basis by its giant neighbor," he said in a thinly veiled reference to China.
Tensions are rising around Taiwan, which is claimed by a Chinese government that has never ruled it and backed by a U.S. government that does not officially recognize it. On the first four days of October, Beijing sent nearly 150 warplanes into Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone -- an area that includes Chinese coastline and parts of the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan's defense minister said on Wednesday that military tensions with China are at their worst in more than 40 years , and Beijing is capable of a "full scale" invasion by 2025.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to give a speech on Beijing's Taiwan policy on Saturday, reported United Daily News, a Taiwanese newspaper. Tsai will speak at an event to mark the island's national day on Sunday.
Despite Australia not officially recognizing the government in Taipei, Abbott referred to Taiwan several times as a "country" during his remarks. Due to Taiwan's disputed political status, it is only recognized by 14 mostly small nations and the Holy See.
Abbott also said it was unfortunate that Taiwan was isolated from international organizations such as the World Health Organization as it was the "the one place on earth which has best tamed this COVID beast" without imposing major restrictions on the economy or freedom of movement.
The former Australian prime minister has also recently thrown his support behind Taiwan's bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which also includes Australia.
Abbott, who is visiting at the same time as a delegation of French senators, will give a keynote speech on Friday at the Yushan Forum, a regional dialogue organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation.
Earlier on Thursday, Tsai met the group of French lawmakers. Led by former minister of defense Alain Richard, the delegation are all members of the French Senate's Taiwan Friendship Group, which has previously visited Taiwan in 2015 and 2018, according to Taiwanese media.
They proceeded with their five-day trip despite earlier warnings from China that they were sending the "wrong signal to pro-independence forces in Taiwan."
Tsai awarded Richard a medal of honour at a brief reception on Thursday morning where he spoke of France's desire to "ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific Region."
Both France and the European Union have recently expressed greater interest in regional security there as well as concern about China's expanding presence in the South and East China seas as well as the Taiwan Strait.