The US congratulated Taiwan’s new president and praised the island’s “solid democratic system and electoral process”.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken congratulated Taiwan’s President-elect William Lai on Saturday. and praised the self-governing island’s “solid democratic system and electoral process”.

In a statement, Blinken also said Washington is “committed to maintaining cross-Strait peace and stability and to the peaceful resolution of differences free from coercion and coercion.”

William LieBranded by China as a threat to peace, it was an unprecedented third consecutive victory for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), after presenting itself as the defender of the island’s democratic way of life.

The winner of Taiwan’s presidential election, which will face increasingly tumultuous relations with China, defined himself as a “pragmatic activist for independence” of the democratically-ruled island. The incumbent vice president and electoral favorite received 40.2% of the vote, according to results counted in 98% of polling stations.

The veteran politician and current vice president, 64, pledged during the campaign to defend the identity of the region of 23 million residents against China, a communist ruling power that considers Taiwan one of its provinces.

For this Lai, J Tsai will replace Ing-wen, the outgoing president, in MayPlans to maintain a policy of military buildup, in the face of multiplying threats by Beijing to resort to force, if it deems necessary, to “reunify” the country.

Although he moderated his speech in recent months, Li’s candidacy raised tensions in Beijingwhich defined it as a “danger and source of war” in the Taiwan Strait.

And shortly after the election results were announced, he reaffirmed that China’s “reunification” was “inevitable.” “We are determined to protect Taiwan from China’s constant intimidation and threats,” Lai Ching-te said in his victory speech, in which he also pledged to maintain peace and stability in the region.

China and Taiwan have been de facto separated since 1949, when communist troops defeated the Nationalists in a civil war, who took refuge on the island where they established an autocratic regime that morphed into a democracy in the 1990s.

During his campaign, Lai reiterated his stance that Taiwan was “already independent” and did not need a formal declaration of secession.

He was open to dialogue with Beijing, but under conditions of “equality and dignity” and warned that he had no intention of sacrificing sovereignty. Taiwan Strengthening relationships for economic prosperity considerations.

“Peace without sovereignty (…) is a false peace,” he said recently.