Ketagalan Forum: 2020 Asia-Pacific Security Dialogue, involving 20 academics, experts and officials from 13 countries across the region, kicked off Sept. 8 in Taipei City.
Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Taipei-headquartered think tank Institute for National Defense and Security Research, the two-day event seeks to deepen cooperation among key stakeholders while promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.
Opened by President Tsai Ing-wen, the semivirtual event involves other big names such as MOFA Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu, former Vice President Chen Chien-jen, ex-U.S. National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster, Australian Member of Parliament Andrew Laming, Polish Academy of Science President Jerzy Duszynski, Daniel Russel, vice president for International Security and Diplomacy at the Washington-based Asia Society Policy Institute, and ambassadors and representatives from the Taiwan diplomatic corps.
According to the organizers, the dialogue focuses on five areas: cross-strait security, South China Sea rivalries, COVID-19 public health cooperation, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership opportunities and post-pandemic security.
Another highlight is the special address by Dr. C. Jason Wang, director of the Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention and associate professor of pediatrics and medicine at Stanford University, as well as the former project manager for Taiwan’s National Health Insurance reform task force.
Wang is expected to elaborate on his well-received article praising Taiwan’s timely, efficient and transparent coronavirus-combating measures published March 3 in U.S.-based Journal of the American Medical Association.
First staged in 2017, the event is considered one of the leading platforms for deepening and expanding Taiwan’s contributions and links with the region. (TYT-E)
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