《TAIPEI TIMES》 Taiwan-US defense meeting launches

NOTABLE ATTENDEES: The deputy defense minister is to lead a delegation to the event to engage with former top US military and government officials, and the AIT chair

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

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Cyberwarfare and the safety of key infrastructure are expected to be the top issues discussed at the annual US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference, which started in Williamsburg, Virginia, today.

The semi-official three-day conference, which has been held since 2012, is a key event for defense and security officials from Taiwan and the US to exchange thoughts and views on threats and challenges in the Taiwan Strait.

The US-Taiwan Business Council, which organized the event, said that American Institute in Taiwan （AIT） Chair Laura Rosenberger; retired admiral Scott Harbinson Swift, former commander of the US Pacific Fleet; retired lieutenant general Steven Rudder, former commanding general of the US Marine Corps Forces, Pacific; and former US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall Shriver would be attending the event.

The delegation from Taiwan, led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Hung-hui （柏鴻輝）, includes Su Tzu-yun （蘇紫雲）, director of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s Division of Defense Strategy and Resources; retired lieutenant general Mike Tien （田在勤）; retired admiral Richard Chen （陳永康）; and Taiwan Security Analysis Center Director Mei Fu-shing （梅復興）.

Panelists are to discuss issues including the Ukraine war, the most serious threats and emerging threats Taiwan faces and supply chain challenges that could negatively affect the ability of the US and Taiwan to meet identified threats.

Other key issues include how the US’ view of Taiwanese defense policy is changing, and how that might change after elections in Taiwan and the US next year.

There are also to be sessions focusing on gaps in Taiwan-US defense cooperation, cybersecurity as an emerging but crucial front in the event of a cross-strait conflict and the role that strategic paralysis of Taiwan’s critical infrastructure might play in a potential conflict.

The conference was held online in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, Major General Yu Chien-feng （余劍鋒）, then director-general of the Defense Mission at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, served as Taiwan’s representative to the event.

A delegation was sent to the conference last year for the first time since 2020, led by then-deputy minister of national defense Wang Shin-long （王信龍）.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES