Representative to the UK Vincent Yao (姚金祥) outlined Taiwan’s whole-of-society defense strategy and reaffirmed the nation’s resolve to defend itself at the first session of a new inquiry into social resilience held on Monday in London by the UK parliament’s Joint Committee on National Security.
The committee — comprising senior parliamentarians who chair key committees on defense, foreign affairs, business, trade and home affairs — asked how Taiwan defines “social resilience,” allocates funding, engages the public on security issues and prevents panic while raising awareness.
The committee inquired about the roles of the public, local governments and corporations in the resilience framework; how the public and private sectors would collaborate to counter disinformation while safeguarding press freedom; how to mitigate supply chain risks; and how to assess the effectiveness of Taiwan’s National Public Safety Guide.
Photo: screen grab from the UK parliament livestream
Taiwan’s defense budget is expected to reach 5 percent of GDP by 2030, a not-insignificant sum, given Taiwan’s top 20 economy, but defense spending is only one component of resilience efforts, Yao said.
The Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee, established in June 2024, aims to decentralize command structures while ensuring continuity across all sectors, he said.
Its scope includes reservist training, logistics for strategic and civilian goods, maintenance of energy and critical infrastructure, preparedness in social welfare, medical services, shelter systems, and information and communications security, he added.
Regular exercises test the readiness of government agencies and personnel, identify vulnerabilities and propose improvements to ensure that core functions can be maintained during crises, Yao said.
The government is also holding urban resilience drills, beginning in Changhua County today, with 11 other local governments participating over the next four months, he said.
These drills would overlap with the annual Han Kuang exercise, Taiwan’s largest regular military exercise, he added.
Performance evaluations for participating agencies and local governments are made public to enhance transparency and accountability, and foreign experts have been invited as observers. Such exercises are to become routine, Yao said.
Increased self-defense capabilities go hand-in-hand with efforts to foster the public’s willingness to defend the nation, which Yao described as key to credible deterrence and to maintaining cross-strait stability.
The government is using accessible and transparent communication to explain security threats from China, encouraging the public to consider their role in crisis scenarios and building trust through awareness and preparedness, Yao said.
Taiwan is expanding cooperation with the UK through workshops and exchanges under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, which the UK joined in November last year, he added.
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