President Tsai Ing-wen said March 16 that Taiwan is committed to safeguarding its sovereignty while bolstering cooperation with the U.S. and other like-minded partners to strengthen regional peace and stability as well as global democratic resilience.
Tsai made the remarks while receiving a delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. Led by Rep. Ken Calvert, chair of the defense subcommittee under the House’s Appropriations Committee, the group includes other subcommittee members Reps. Ed Case, Tom Cole, Mike Garcia, David Joyce and Steve Womack.
According to Tsai, Taiwan stands on the front line of authoritarian expansion. The country has continued to enhance its self-defense capabilities to ensure national and regional security, Tsai said, citing a government plan set out last year to raise response capacity through a restructuring of the country’s armed forces, among other measures.
Tsai also took the opportunity to thank the U.S. Congress for its unwavering bipartisan support for Taiwan, which lawmakers recently reaffirmed with items included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
Overall bilateral ties continue to go from strength to strength, as evidenced by the productive second round of negotiations under the Taiwan-U.S. Initiative on 21st-Century Trade that took place in January, the president said. She added that she anticipates discussions will result in a high-standard agreement addressing areas like digital trade, labor rights and trade facilitation and that the pact will further serve as the foundation for a comprehensive trade agreement.
In response, Calvert said the trip builds on decades of regional partnership and joint prosperity, adding that he and his delegation members look forward to discussing issues of mutual interest such as investment with Tsai. (YCH-E)
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