“Skepticism toward the US” and “skepticism toward Taiwan are essentially myths, said former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger in Taipei yesterday, stating people should instead scrutinize the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) promises and shift the focus toward “skepticism toward the CCP.”
Pottinger, now chief executive officer of the risk research and advisory firm Garnut Global, made the comments in a keynote speech at the 2026 Resilient Taiwan for Sustainable Democracy International Forum hosted by the Presidential Office.
He said that during past visits to Taiwan, he has repeatedly called on Taiwan to urgently strengthen its military capabilities and resilience, advice which the current administration is evidently heeding.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The government’s urgent and targeted approach to self-defense is evidenced by the improved format of the Han Kuang annual military exercises, urban resilience drills and leap in drone production, he said.
Taiwan exported 3,000 drones in 2024, and the figure is expected to increase a hundredfold by the end of this year, Pottinger said, adding Taiwan has laid down the foundation to be a major player in the uncrewed systems industry.
Yet, Beijing and Moscow are colluding in an algorithm-boosted disinformation campaign on social media to spread skepticism of Taiwan and the US in a bid to undermine the two nations, he said.
The “America skepticism” theory, in which the US is described as an unreliable partner, emerges in Taiwan is essentially defamation wrapped in myths, he said.
The matter truly deserving of Taiwanese skepticism is China’s utter inability to keep its promises, as Beijing has demonstrated time and again in its repression of Hong Kong, he said.
The imprisonment of media freedom champion Jimmy Lai (黎智英) and democracy advocate Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), despite Beijing’s agreement to make no changes to Hong Kong’s democratic constitution for 50 years after the handover, he said.
Macao’s former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San (區錦新) was also imprisoned in a secret trial, he added.
Pottinger highlighted former US president Franklin D. Roosevelt as a steadfast ally of the Republic of China in its fight against tyranny, quoting Roosevelt’s famous words: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
He urged people not to let doubts undermine Taiwan’s confidence in its own achievements and determination, or its resolve to continue strengthening its defenses and resilience.
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