Taiwan's president says her island's government will protect regional peace and stability amid heightened tensions with rival China.

In an annual National Day address Tuesday, Tsai also repeated that she'd extend "goodwill" to China and neither "buckle under its pressure" nor "go down an adversarial path."

Oct. 10 marks the 1911 founding of the Republic of China, which once ruled on the mainland but was forced to retreat to Taiwan in 1949 after Mao Zedong's Communists swept to power amid civil war.

China cut off contact with Tsai's government shortly after her inauguration and has refused to renew contact until she endorses Beijing's view that Taiwan is a part of Chinese territory. Beijing threatens to use force to seize control of the island and has steadily increased pressure on Taipei.