President Lai Ching-te said July 31 that Taiwan is committed to working with the U.S. to build secure and trustworthy non-red supply chains and promote drone industry development to enhance R&D and mass production capabilities among democratic partners.
Lai received a U.S. delegation led by Young Kim, chair of the House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. He noted that this year marks the 250th anniversary of the U.S. founding and the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s first direct presidential election, and thanked the visiting bipartisan group for supporting Taiwan.
According to Lai, even though China continues to intensify military pressure on Taiwan and ramp up gray-zone aggression, the government is determined to maintain cross-strait peace and stability. Peace is achieved through strength, he said, noting that the defense budget will increase and whole-of-society defense resilience will be enhanced as deepened collaboration with democracies moves forward to deter aggression.
The president added that unmanned vehicles are now an indispensable force in modern defense, and Taiwan is developing its drone industry on the strength of its semiconductors, information and communications technology and precision manufacturing sectors. He cited a special budget for unmanned vehicle procurement and a government decision to move from drone R&D and testing to mass production.
Lai thanked the U.S. Congress and successive administrations for long-standing support for Taiwan’s democratic values, regional security and technology cooperation.
In response, Kim said that a secure and free Taiwan is critical to Indo-Pacific and U.S. security, adding that threats from the Chinese Communist Party require joint deterrence.
Kim praised Taiwan’s decision to pass the US$25 billion supplemental defense bill earlier this year and proposed new drone legislation. Congress will continue to support Taiwan, she said, citing among steps taken as those to ease Taiwan’s inclusion in international organizations, support for Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and encouragement of bilateral tourism. (YCH-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
Lai received a U.S. delegation led by Young Kim, chair of the House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. He noted that this year marks the 250th anniversary of the U.S. founding and the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s first direct presidential election, and thanked the visiting bipartisan group for supporting Taiwan.
According to Lai, even though China continues to intensify military pressure on Taiwan and ramp up gray-zone aggression, the government is determined to maintain cross-strait peace and stability. Peace is achieved through strength, he said, noting that the defense budget will increase and whole-of-society defense resilience will be enhanced as deepened collaboration with democracies moves forward to deter aggression.
The president added that unmanned vehicles are now an indispensable force in modern defense, and Taiwan is developing its drone industry on the strength of its semiconductors, information and communications technology and precision manufacturing sectors. He cited a special budget for unmanned vehicle procurement and a government decision to move from drone R&D and testing to mass production.
Lai thanked the U.S. Congress and successive administrations for long-standing support for Taiwan’s democratic values, regional security and technology cooperation.
In response, Kim said that a secure and free Taiwan is critical to Indo-Pacific and U.S. security, adding that threats from the Chinese Communist Party require joint deterrence.
Kim praised Taiwan’s decision to pass the US$25 billion supplemental defense bill earlier this year and proposed new drone legislation. Congress will continue to support Taiwan, she said, citing among steps taken as those to ease Taiwan’s inclusion in international organizations, support for Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and encouragement of bilateral tourism. (YCH-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
from Taiwan Today – Top News