Maintaining a strong relationship with Taiwan has bipartisan support in the US, former US assistant secretary of state Kurt Campbell told a forum yesterday via videoconferencing, while encouraging Taipei and Beijing to resume dialogue.
The Taiwan-US-Japan Trilateral Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue took place in Taipei, just hours after the US announced another potential arms sale package to Taiwan.
In her opening remarks, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said this year has been difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while other forms of traditional and non-
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
traditional threats also posed grave challenges.
“The South China Sea has become increasingly militarized. Authoritarian forces consistently attempt to violate the existing rules-based order,” she said.
“Taiwan has been at the receiving end of such military threats on a daily basis. We therefore understand the urgency of dealing with these threats,” she added.
Other non-traditional threats, such as natural disasters, international crime, threats to energy safety, and maritime and cyberspace security, should also be effectively addressed, Tsai said, calling for cooperation to tackle the challenges.
She touted the achievements made through the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, a Taiwan-US-Japan cooperation platform marking its fifth anniversary, adding that Sweden, Australia and the Netherlands have joined the group as issue-specific partners.
Delivering his speech virtually after Tsai, Campbell addressed future US policy on Asia. Campbell, now chairman of the Washington-based advisory firm Asia Group, was a US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs during former US president Barack Obama’s administration.
While Washington had in the past few decades paid more attention to the Middle East, the Obama administration started repositioning the country’s Asia policy, and a new administration under US president-elect Joe Biden would continue the legacy and start new possibilities, he said.
The new administration should make the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which involves the US, Japan, India and Australia, more robust, and seek to rejoin international organizations and play a leading role, he added.
US Democrats and Republicans alike understand the challenges presented by Beijing’s military and economic aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as the strategic interest of maintaining a strong relationship with Taiwan, he said.
Washington and Beijing could still work together in tackling certain issues, such as pandemic prevention and climate change, he said.
Campbell said Taipei and Beijing could resume dialogue to ease cross-strait tensions.
Washington’s goal is to realize its commitments to Taiwan’s democracy and cross-strait security, which US President Donald Trump’s administration has done excellently and should be continued by Biden, he said.
Also joining the videoconference was Randall Schriver, Project 2049 Institute chairman and former US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, who talked of Taiwan’s geostrategic importance.
The annexation of Taiwan by China would pose a serious threat to regional security, especially to Japan’s defense around the Ryukyu Islands and the Miyako Strait, he said.
As Taiwan’s continued existence is in the common interest of the US, Taiwan and Japan, the three countries should work together in more operational ways, including defending supply chains security, he said.
Hopefully, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Biden’s incoming administration would take into account opinions shared at the forum, he said.
The Taiwan-US-Japan Trilateral Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue was cohosted by the Prospect Foundation, the Project 2049 Institute and the Japan Institute of International Affairs.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
DISPUTE: A Chinese official prompted a formal protest from Tokyo by saying that ‘the dirty head that sticks itself out must be cut off,’ after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks Four armed China Coast Guard vessels yesterday morning sailed through disputed waters controlled by Japan, amid a diplomatic spat following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan. The four ships sailed around the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) to Taiwan, and which Taiwan and China also claim — on Saturday before entering Japanese waters yesterday and left, the Japan Coast Guard said. The China Coast Guard said in a statement that it carried out a “rights enforcement patrol” through the waters and that it was a lawful operation. As of the end of last month,
RSS