American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene has met with Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) as well as opposition lawmakers to discuss Taiwan-US defense cooperation, the AIT said on Monday.
Greene last week met with Koo to discuss US efforts to bolster Taiwan’s defensive capabilities to fulfill Washington’s responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act, the institute, the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, wrote on Facebook.
“We also discussed further US-Taiwan cooperation in traditional and asymmetric military deterrence as well as societal resilience,” it added.
Photo: Screen grab from the American Institute in Taiwan’s Facebook page
In a separate post, the AIT said Greene met with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers to talk about Taiwan-US defense cooperation.
The AIT appreciates the KMT’s “continued partnership in enhancing Taiwan’s national security and whole-of-society resilience,” it added.
KMT lawmakers Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯), Chen Yeong-kang (陳永康), Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) and Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) were among the party members who attended the meeting, according to a photograph accompanying the post.
Photo: Screen grab from the American Institute in Taiwan’s Facebook page
In response to media queries, Koo said that Taiwan-US military cooperation has always centered on maintaining regional peace and stability, and exchanges with the AIT are an integral part of that cooperation.
The Ministry of National Defense does not disclose the content of the deliberations between the minister and AIT directors as a matter of long-standing policy, he added.
Sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that the meeting between the AIT and KMT lawmakers revolved around the opposition party’s stance on the defense budget, and Taiwan-US cooperation in defense resilience initiatives, including drones and civil defense.
The meeting lasted for about 20 minutes, with the two sides agreeing to meet again later, they added.
In other news, the South China Morning Post on Sunday quoted analysts as saying that the US’ recent high-profile disclosure that more than 500 Taiwanese soldiers participate in the Northern Strike drills in Michigan was a strategic move to counter rising distrust of Washington among Taiwanese.
The US military newspaper Stars and Stripes last week revealed that Taiwan has been sending military personnel to participate in the military exercise at least since 2021, with Taiwanese attendance at an all-time high this year.
The South China Morning Post called the admission a break from the US’ long-standing policy of avoiding public discussions of Taiwan-US military exchanges that might provoke Beijing.
The Hong Kong daily quoted Taiwan International Strategic Study Society executive director Max Lo (羅慶生) as calling the revelation “significant.”
“It shows Washington wants Taiwan’s involvement to be seen, not hidden,” he said.
The article cited a German Marshall Fund report that said most public opinion polls showed that Taiwan’s “historically favorable view” of the US is declining.
Released on Monday last week and titled “Taiwan’s Growing Distrust of the United States,” the report cited US President Donald Trump’s 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods as “a major factor for the hit to the US image.”
Another belief shown in polls is that the Trump administration is deliberately attempting to erode Taiwan’s dominant position in the global semiconductor market, the report said.
The German Marshall Fund cited a Brookings Institution report conducted in February and April that showed that 40.5 percent of respondents said they held a negative view of the US, up from 24.2 percent in July last year.
China specialist Bonnie Glaser and coauthor Jennifer Lan said in the German Marshall Fund report that distrust of the US in Taiwan might “embolden [the People’s Republic of China] to undertake riskier actions to compel unification.”
That outlook could explain why the US was now publicizing Taiwan’s participating in Northern Strike, the South China Morning Post quoted Lo as saying.
“Revealing Taiwanese participation is intended not only as a deterrent to mainland China, but more importantly as reassurance to Taiwan’s public,” he said.
“It shows the US is training and standing alongside Taiwan, even as Trump’s tariffs and demands stir resentment,” he added.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-ting and Lin Hsin-han
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