(Bloomberg) -- Foxconn Technology Group founder Terry Gou ended months of speculation by joining a crowded race to become Taiwan’s next president — in the process upending an election that will have wide-ranging implications for security in the Western Pacific.

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Despite trailing the three other candidates in polling, Gou declared his candidacy for the vote in January 2024 at a briefing in Taipei on Monday. For his bid to become official, he will need to secure the signatures of around 290,000 voters.

“Over the past seven years, I’ve witnessed Taiwan go from being prosperous to being on the brink of falling off a cliff in many aspects, including the economy, national defense and foreign affairs,” he said. “If we don’t pull back now, it will be too late to save Taiwan from falling. We have to take down the Democratic Progressive Party.”

Ironically, his entry into the race may make a DPP victory more likely.

Gou’s candidacy puts him in direct competition with the two candidates who support closer ties between Taiwan and China: Hou Yu-ih of the main opposition Kuomintang and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party.

All three are up against Vice President Lai Ching-te, the ruling DPP candidate who champions Taiwan’s status as an independent country.

With Taiwan caught in the middle of an increasingly fractious relationship between the US and China, the outcome of the election will likely determine the direction of ties between Washington, Beijing and Taipei for years to come.

See: Taiwan’s Gou Says Apple Among Reasons China Won’t Pressure Him

Beijing makes no effort to hide its disdain for Lai, signaling it’s likely to keep pressuring the DPP government if he wins the election in January. Lai has in the past described himself as a worker for Taiwan independence. He’s recently toned down that rhetoric, but that hasn’t stopped China from branding him a liar who’s election could compel them to take military action.