White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Deputy Director Alexander Gray might be tapped as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs, sources in Washington said.
The rumor comes following the nomination of Project 2049 Institute president Randall Schriver as US assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs.
The source said the nomination could bring new momentum to US-Taiwan military cooperation, as Gray is familiar with military affairs in the Taiwan Strait and has always been a proponent of a stronger Taiwanese national defense system.
Gray has long kept tabs on the development of the Chinese military, especially its modernization efforts, the source said.
Gray coauthored an article with White House National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro on then-US president-elect Donald Trump’s views on national defense and diplomacy entitled Donald Trump’s Peace Through Strength Vision for the Asia-Pacific.
Navarro and Gray have hawkish views on trade with China and are considered to represent the movement for further US military build-up, the source said.
With a team that shares his views and congressional support, US-Taiwan military ties might have more room for development under Schriver, the source said.
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