The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is committed to engaging with many different groups in the US to foster stronger ties between the two sides, a KMT representative said at a defense industry forum in Virginia on Monday.
New KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) is ready to engage in dialogue with US authorities, Sam Houston State University associate professor Dennis Weng (翁履中) told the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference.
The party would establish a liaison office in Washington by the end of this year to “better communicate our policy agenda and positions with the US federal government, the [US] Congress, policy think tanks, and universities,” said a transcript of Weng’s speech provided by the event organizer, the US-Taiwan Business Council.
Photo courtesy of the KMT
The KMT has also established an International Affairs Working Group that would send delegations of party experts on Taiwan-US relations to the US on a regular basis after the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, Weng said.
With competition between the US and China intensifying and the Democratic Progressive Party government unable to ensure stable cross-strait relations, the KMT is committed to contributing to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, he said.
The party is considering “national security strategy guidelines” aimed at “preventing our adversary from making a decision to wage war against Taiwan,” and is ready to work with defense companies at home and abroad, Weng said.
“At the same time, we will also candidly speak up in the interests of Taiwan’s defense based on our assessment,” he said.
The 20th edition of the annual conference, held from Sunday to yesterday, includes discussions on defense cooperation between Taiwan and the US, and Taiwan’s defense and national security needs, the conference Web site says.
In Taipei, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱 國正) said that the ministry did not send delegates to this year’s forum because of COVID-19 concerns.
The ministry was represented at the event by ministry personnel posted in the US, he said, without elaborating.
He was likely referring to Major General Yu Chien-feng (余劍鋒), director general of the Defense Mission at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, who delivered a speech at the conference on behalf of Vice Minister of National Defense Wang Hsin-lung (王信龍).
In the speech, Yu said that Taipei hoped to improve its defense capabilities by working with the US in multiple areas, including by promoting mutual visits between Taiwan’s reserve forces and the US National Guard, conducting joint cybersecurity exercises and sharing intelligence.
Another key would be for US weapons providers to work with their Taiwanese partners to enhance Taiwan’s repair and maintenance capabilities, he said.
Such an arrangement would enable Taiwan to maintain its weapons systems more effectively, while offering benefits to US military assets deployed in the Asia-Pacific region, Yu said.
The conference last year took place as a virtual event due to COVID-19, and the Taiwanese delegation was led by then-deputy minister of national defense Chang Guan-chung (張冠群).
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