Taiwan's president is positioning the island as a frontline partner for democracies on two emerging security threats: undersea cable sabotage and Chinese pressure campaigns abroad.

• President Lai Ching-te told visiting European lawmakers from the Formosa Club that Taiwan will take the lead in sharing experience on managing risks to international undersea cables and countering China's cross-border repression tactics.
• He tied Taiwan's security directly to Europe's, arguing that instability in the Indo-Pacific and in Europe (citing Ukraine) are linked, and that peace requires both military strength and support among democratic partners.
• Taiwan plans to keep raising defense spending and build "trusted" democratic supply chains with partners in AI, drones, and semiconductors.
• The European delegation's leader said support for Taiwan crosses party lines in Europe and won't shift with elections, drawing a parallel between Taiwan and Baltic states wanting to control their own futures rather than have a powerful neighbor dictate terms.
• The joint statement from the meeting backed undersea cable security initiatives and opposed any unilateral change to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

Outlook: Expect continued joint statements and parliamentary support from Europe, with undersea cable security and supply-chain cooperation becoming recurring themes in Taiwan-Europe engagement, while tensions with China over the issue persist.