Taiwan is enhancing indigenous defense capabilities while expanding cooperation with the U.S. and other like-minded partners to ensure democracy will prevail over authoritarianism, Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu said Feb. 22.
Taiwan is a front-line state standing firm in the face of China’s ongoing campaign of coercion, Wu said. The country is responding robustly to economic, grey zone, hybrid warfare and military threats on a daily basis, he added.
As a force for good and reliable partner, Wu said, Taiwan will continue deepening friendship and expanding exchanges with the U.S. as part of efforts to defend freedom and democracy.
Wu made the remarks during a virtual conversation with Mark Esper, former U.S. secretary of defense and a John McCain distinguished fellow, staged by Washington-based think tank McCain Institute.
According to Wu, the government and people fully understand the need to take responsibility for safeguarding the country’s sovereignty and democratic way of life. The international community is increasingly coming to realize that Taiwan and China do not belong to one another and is forging fresh fields for cooperation with Taiwan accordingly, he said.
Case in point is the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Wu said. Taiwan is willing and able to participate in the trade bloc and is seeking support from signatory economies, he added.
The country is also prepared to enter into talks with the U.S. on a free trade agreement, Wu said, adding that such a pact would create jobs for both sides, promote prosperity and benefit the Indo-Pacific.
In a tweet on its official Twitter account, the MOFA said “Minister Wu is front & center in the latest #ConversationsWithSecretaryEsper. Watch as he talks to @MarkTEsper of @McCainInstitute about issues like #Taiwan-#US relations, the threat of authoritarianism & the country’s goal of #CPTPP participation.” (SFC-E)
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