The nation's chief representative in the US called on Washington on Monday to counter China's massive military buildup in Asia.
Beijing has repeatedly threatened to attack should Taiwan formalize its de facto independence.
"Taiwan is prosperous economically, but Taiwan is also under threat," Joseph Wu (
The US has maintained an ambiguous "one China" policy, but has also pledged defensive weapons for Taiwan and hinted that it would provide military backing if China attacked.
In its annual report to Congress, the US Defense Department said that China has been acquiring better missiles, submarines and aircraft and should more fully explain the purpose of the buildup. Nearly 1,000 Chinese missiles are aimed at key Taiwanese military and civilian targets across the 160km-wide Taiwan Strait.
"Taiwan's sovereignty is being put in danger by Chinese tactics," Wu said.
Taiwan and the US should consult more regularly to ease Taipei's concerns about China, he said.
Wu listed China's many advantages over Taiwan: economic, military and political strength; a huge population; and a growing lobbying effort aimed at US lawmakers.
"There's only one thing in which Taiwan has an advantage at this moment: Taiwan is a democracy and China is not," he said.
Wu called on the US to encourage Japan to hold more security talks with Taiwan.
"In future, if there's going to be any conflict between Taiwan and China, I'm sure there will be some actors, including Japan and the United States, that will be drawn into the situation," Wu said.
Wu also acknowledged US concerns about a Taiwan referendum on rejoining the UN under the name Taiwan, which has drawn fierce objections from China and US warnings not to hold the poll.
He said, however, that the referendum enjoys public support.
Taiwan, he said, has "its own domestic momentum."
Wu said the US opposition could boost Taiwanese support for the referendum, noting that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had promoted a referendum proposal similar to that put forward by the Democratic Progressive Party -- an indication that it is "the mainstream view of Taiwanese."
Washington has repeatedly said that any resolution of cross-strait disputes would have to respect the wishes and gain the consent of Taiwanese, he pointed out.
Wu said he believed that the democratic process, including the holding of referendums, would be the key to resolving cross-strait disputes.
He claimed that "China has pushed Taiwan against the wall," noting that Taiwan cannot use its official name of "Republic of China" in the international community and that the other names imposed by China -- such as "Chinese Taipei" or "Taiwan, China" -- had aroused resentment among Taiwanese.
If Taiwan cannot use its official name, then it is "most natural" for it to apply to take part in international activities under the name "Taiwan," he said.
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