President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for closer cooperation among democratic partners to strengthen supply chains and economic resilience, saying that Taiwan wanted to work with like-minded countries to form “international teams.”
Speaking at the opening of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, Lai said Taiwan intends to leverage the many advantages of these partners to deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
“We strongly hope that by leveraging the combined advantages of our democracies, economies and technologies, Taiwan and our democratic partners can work together to build more resilient supply chains and economies,” he said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
One way Taiwan would encourage that, Lai said, was through the establishment of “teams” at different levels.
“Taiwan will form national teams in specific fields to keep making our nation stronger,” he said. “But we will go beyond that, by building international teams to keep leveraging the power of solidarity with other nations.”
The forum, in its ninth year and titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” is part of Taiwan’s efforts to expand engagement with regional partners, he said.
Taipei has been working to unite democratic partners to safeguard freedom and counter authoritarian expansion while trying to decouple its economy from China’s and diversify into other markets, he said
Taiwan has reduced its economic reliance on China, Lai said. In 2010, 83.8 percent of Taiwan’s outbound investment went to China, but the figure dropped to 3.75 percent last year.
At the same time, Taiwan has expanded its presence in other markets, with Taiwanese investment in EU countries, growing by 650 percent over the past decade, Lai said.
The US became Taiwan’s
largest export market last year, with exports to the US rising 78 percent, while shipments to ASEAN and South Asian partner countries increased 30.5 percent.
Lai said Taiwan would continue investing in advanced technologies such as silicon photonics, quantum technology and robotics while building on its strengths in semiconductor manufacturing and integrated circuit design.
He reiterated plans to boost defense capabilities, noting Taiwan’s defense budget is expected to reach 3.32 percent of GDP this year and could rise to 5 percent by 2030.
The forum runs through today and is attended by several international guests, including former Polish president Lech Walesa, former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Pal Chaudhry and former Philippine vice president Leni Robredo.
Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya, who has attended all eight iterations of the forum, was present at the opening ceremony.
Separately, hosting a luncheon yesterday, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Taiwan’s values, resilience and technological strengths form a solid foundation for international partnerships amid tremendous complexity and uncertainty, cooperation among trusted friends becomes even more important.
“Taiwan is a vibrant democracy grounded in freedom, the rule of law and open civic participation… These principles shape how Taiwan engages with the world and make us a reliable partner for countries who also value openness, accountability and peaceful cooperation,” she said.
Taiwan has accumulated significant experience in resilience, not only in natural disaster response, but in responding to complex security challenges, economic disruptions, cyber and information threats as well, she said.
Taiwan plays a central role in the global technology ecosystem, as its semiconductor industry and advanced manufacturing capabilities support industries across the world, Hsiao said, adding that Taiwan’s technology sector operates within an open and democratic society, and those “values build trust.”
“Taiwan looks forward to continuing to work with partners across the region to strengthen resilience, support innovation and promote a free and secure region,” she said.
Additional reporting by Lee I-chia
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