Hou Yu-ih, the mayor of New Taipei City and presidential candidate of Taiwan's main opposition Nationalist Party, called for deterrence, dialogue and de-escalation to promote cross-strait peace and stability in a speech to a U.S. think tank earlier this week, Taiwanese media said.
Hou of the party also known as the Kuomintang, outlined his so-called "three Ds" strategy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Monday during his U.S. trip, according to media reports. The presidential election will be held next January.
In an article published by the Foreign Affairs magazine the same day, Hou said Taiwan must enhance its self-defense capabilities, pointing to the widening gap in the military balance of mainland China and the island that "tilts heavily in favor of Beijing."
The mayor also said while a strong military will help deter aggression and keep at bay any prospect of war across the Taiwan Strait, peace requires dialogue.
"I will seek to interact constructively with Beijing," Hou pledged in the article, saying "that interaction will lead to de-escalation" of cross-strait tensions.
The former National Police Agency head also said he aims to enhance cooperation with Taipei's partners and allies to better safeguard Taiwan and its remote island groups.
The 66-year-old candidate said the majority of people in Taiwan want to maintain the status quo and do not want formal independence. He criticized the ruling Democratic Progressive Party for "pushing Taiwan to the brink of war" due to its lack of communication with Beijing.
Communist-led China, which views the self-ruled democratic island as a renegade province to be united with the mainland, by force if necessary, has increased military pressure on the territory in recent years. Kuomintang is considered Beijing's preferred negotiating partner as compared to the independence-leaning DPP.
Hou called for strengthening U.S.-Taiwan relations and sought Washington's assistance for the island to join regional economic and trade frameworks including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. IPEF is a U.S.-led initiative that seeks to build resilient supply chains in the region.
In addition to Hou, other major candidates in the leadership race are Vice President Lai Ching-te, 63, who heads the DPP, former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, 64, chairman of the opposition Taiwan People's Party, and independent Terry Gou, 72, founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., an Apple Inc. supplier known by its tradename Foxconn.
