Taiwan is prepared to step up collaborations with the US to build a supply chain decoupled from Chinese sources, bolstering bilateral economic resilience and ushering in global technological development, Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Alaska this week.
Pan gave his speech at the summit, which was held from Monday to Thursday and was attended by Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Lai Chien-hsin (賴建信) and CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁).
The Taiwan-US relationship, along with a peaceful and stable Taiwan Strait form the foundation for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world, Pan said.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
Taiwan is willing to work with the US as a reliable partner to develop high technology, renewable energy and supply chain security in the joint pursuit of progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and energy transition, he said.
Alaska is home to bountiful natural resources and plays a critical role in providing power-generation resilience for end-users in the Indo-Pacific region, he added.
President William Lai (賴清德) has stated the importance of securing Taiwan’s energy supply through purchases from the US, a directive that has led to the signing of a letter of intent between Taipei and Washington in March on investing in the extraction of natural gas.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
A source familiar with the issue, commenting on condition of anonymity, said on Friday that Lai tapped Pan to head the delegation to visit Alaska and asked that Pan establish efficient channels of negotiations while upholding Taiwanese national interests.
Before attending the conference, Pan visited the North Slope Borough with Representative to the US Alexander Yui, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska.
The Presidential Office said the relatively high-profile reception of the Taiwan delegation was a demonstration of the US’ emphasis on collaborating with international partners on energy security.
Japanese Vice Minister for International Affairs Matsuo Takehiko and South Korean Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Ho-hyeon were also present at the North Slope visit, the source said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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