President Lai Ching-te reaffirmed Taiwan’s commitment to expanding cooperation with Europe and the U.S. in areas spanning economy, security, technology and trade while jointly safeguarding regional peace and stability.
Lai made the remarks Jan. 21 while receiving a transatlantic delegation from the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. led by its president Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. He stressed that democracies must remain united to counter authoritarian expansion and defend freedom and democratic values.
The president said Taiwan is determined to strengthen its self-defense capabilities, citing a defense budget exceeding 3 percent of gross domestic product this year and a planned special defense budget of more than US$40 billion. He also pointed to plans to develop the T-Dome advanced air defense system and apply artificial intelligence and high technology to the defense industry.
Lai thanked the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump for approving US$11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan last December and for issuing a statement emphasizing the importance of preserving military overmatch to deter conflict in the Taiwan Strait. He also welcomed a statement from the European External Action Service underscoring the importance of cross-strait peace and stability to regional and global security following China’s military exercises around Taiwan last December.
The president said that after successfully completing tariff negotiations, Taiwan expects to deepen cooperation with the U.S. in digital trade, science and technology, and supply chains through mechanisms such as the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue.
Lai noted that Taiwan’s investment in Europe over the past four years has exceeded the total of the previous four decades. Taiwan hopes to expand cooperation with European partners in artificial intelligence, information and communications technology, semiconductors and supply chain resilience, he added.
In response, de Hoop Scheffer said cross-strait and regional stability is vital to transatlantic and global security and closely linked to economic and supply chain resilience. The Taiwan issue affects the credibility of the democratic alliance, she added, urging stronger partnerships with Taiwan in infrastructure development and cyber, economic and defense technologies. (YCH-E)
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