The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) posted a photo on its Facebook page on Thursday, which it said demonstrates the strong security cooperation between Taiwan and the US.
The photo shows Taiwan’s chief of the general staff, General Yen De-fa (嚴德發), among the attendees at a joint change of command ceremony for the US Pacific Command (PACOM) and US Pacific Fleet (PACFL) on May 27 at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
The caption read Yen and Admiral Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明) of Taiwan attended the ceremony in recognition of the strong security cooperation between Taiwan and the US.
The Ministry of National Defense also confirmed that Yen and Lee were present at the ceremony, at which US Admiral Harry Harris Jr assumed command of PACOM and US Admiral Scott Swift assumed command of PACFLT.
Lee, the navy commander, was not in the photo posted by the AIT, but he appeared in one of the photos posted by US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert on his Facebook page.
Greenert was one of the senior US military officers at the ceremony.
The presence of Yen and Lee at the ceremony followed Taiwan’s participation in the first amphibious leaders symposium hosted by the US Pacific Command in Hawaii last month, which brought together representatives from more than 20 countries.
In other news, new AIT Director Kin Moy is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan on Monday to take up the position, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said yesterday.
Christopher Marut, who arrived in Taiwan in September 2012, left the nation yesterday morning as he concluded his tenure.
“Director Marut extends his thanks to all of the people of Taiwan for having offered him a tremendously rewarding and enriching three years,” the AIT said in a statement yesterday.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) awarded Marut with the Order of the Brilliant Star on Wednesday in recognition of his contributions to deepening US-Taiwan relations.
“Taiwan is an amazing success story — as a dynamic democracy, an entrepreneurial, high technology economy, and a caring, cultured and educated society with deeply rooted beliefs in freedom and openness, human rights,” Marut said in a post on the AIT’s Facebook page, adding that he accepted the award on behalf of the team at AIT.
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