Taiwan speaker hails Japan, South Korea and Philippines for 'crescent of defense'

FILE PHOTO: Taiwan's Parliament Speaker You Si-kun speaks during a news conference with Michael McCaul, Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, who is leading a delegation of US lawmakers visiting Taiwan, at the parliament in Taipei, Taiwan April 7, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

The speaker of Taiwan's parliament praised Japan, South Korea and the Philippines on Tuesday for helping to create a "crescent of defense" with Taiwan and the U.S. against China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Speaking in Washington, You Si-kun told the Hudson Institute think tank that China's ruling Communist Party (CCP) and leader Xi Jinping saw Taiwan as just a "stepping stone" to global hegemony.