US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government.
Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation, Institute for National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said on Saturday.
Taiwan should adopt a pragmatic security strategy by having its interests tied with allies via cash and capital, in addition to ensuring deterrence via purchasing arms and ammunition, Su said, adding that Taiwan’s trade surplus with the US being as high as US$70 billion makes such a strategy even more necessary.
Taiwan should prioritize energy security in improving its ties with the US, he said.
Taiwan, Japan and South Korea source their energy mostly from the Middle East, which comes with logistical risks, he said, adding that an energy line coming from Alaska would benefit the three countries.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has adopted a policy of “unleashing US energy” to enhance the nation’s autonomy, and Alaska is one of the richest US states in terms of fossil fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG) resources, Kuma Academy chief executive officer Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) said.
While Alaska is open for external investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries, with the sea routes passing through China’s sphere of influence, Ho said.
If Taiwan can source LNG from Alaska, it can ensure faster and safer delivery, he said.
LNG helps Taiwan realize its “nuclear-free homeland” policy, and the supply of the energy source would be critical given the difficulty of its storage, he said.
Alaska is a new and promising energy source for Taiwan, he added.
That US Cabinet officials attended the conference and gave Pan a high-profile reception is not only diplomatically significant, but would influence Taiwan-US tariff negotiations as Trump’s 90-day pause on tariffs would soon expire, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said.
The government’s negotiation strategies have earned recognition from experts familiar with the matter globally, he said, adding that he was cautiously optimistic about the negotiations’ outcome.
Expanding the extraction of gas and oil in Alaska would help meet local demand and support export markets, and provide electricity to US defense facilities in the state, Burgum said.
Alaska has high geostrategic value, as it is close to China and Russia, and the state links the US to Asia, Ho said.
The Alaska government has suspended energy investments from Chinese companies due to security concerns, he said.
Alaska is the first line of air defense for the US and its significance to the nation’s defense is expected to increase, Su said.
Local energy demand from Alaska could skyrocket if Trump includes high-energy laser or high-power microwave weapons in his “Golden Dome” missile defense system plan, he said.
If Taiwan can collaborate with the US by taking part in the energy investment, it would be a step forward in building mutual trust, as well as in bolstering defense security and economic cooperation, Su said.
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