Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to call on the UK government to increase its support for Taiwan during her visit to the island this week. Speaking at the Prospect Foundation think-tank, Truss is expected to call for greater military cooperation between Taiwan and the West to bolster the island's defences against China, which views Taiwan as a breakaway province that it is committed to reclaiming. Truss also plans to urge for Taiwan's inclusion in the UK's new Pacific trade pact. Outlining the importance of Taiwan as "on the front line of the global battle for freedom," Truss will become the first former UK Prime Minister to visit Taiwan since Margaret Thatcher in the 1990s. With the UK lacking official diplomatic relations with the island, Truss's trip has been met with criticism from senior Conservatives who believe it risks undermining current Chancellor Rishi Sunak's position and complicating the UK's stance on China.