Taipei, Taiwan—— Former US Vice President Mike Pence has called on President-elect Donald Trump to reaffirm his pledge to support Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.

Pence said during a visit to Taipei on Friday that China's annexation of Taiwan would affect global trade, technology and nuclear proliferation.

"The fall of Taiwan could trigger a new nuclear arms race," he said. "Small Asian countries worried about Chinese aggression will no longer have confidence in U.S. deterrence. U.S. security commitments will be seen as a blank check, destabilizing not only the region but the wider world."

Countries would feel "they have no choice but to develop their own nuclear arsenals," which would increase the risk of a global nuclear confrontation, he added.

Pence, who served as vice president during Trump's first term but feuded with his former boss over Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 election, sought to reassure the people of Taiwan that Washington would continue to provide support.

The United States, Taiwan's main arms supplier, favors maintaining the status quo between Taipei and Beijing and has threatened to use force to annex the self-ruled island if necessary.

During last year's campaign, Trump expressed doubts about continued U.S. support for Taiwan, accusing Taiwan of stealing decades of U.S. chip industry and saying Taiwan should pay U.S. protection money to counter China.

Speaking at an education forum in Taiwan's capital, Pence said he believed the United States would never "give up" on its allies across the Pacific.

"I call on the new administration in Washington, D.C., and freedom-loving countries around the world to urgently reaffirm our commitment to provide Taiwan with the support it needs to defend itself and its freedoms," he said.

He also called on the incoming Trump administration to initiate negotiations for a free trade agreement with Taiwan, a development that has long been talked about by multiple U.S. and Taiwanese politicians and is sure to anger China.

Pence said that during Trump's first term, he and the president "changed the national consensus on China."

"There is now broad bipartisan consensus in our nation's capital that China today is the greatest strategic and economic threat our country and its allies face in the 21st century," he said.

On Thursday, Pence attended a business event in Hong Kong where he called for the release of jailed publisher Jimmy Lai.