A delegation from the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) met respectively with President Lai Ching-te and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim on August 1. During their visit to Taiwan last week, the FDD delegation held discussions on Taiwan’s energy security with NCCU’s Centre for Innovative Democracy and Sustainability (CIDs) and DSET, and was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Tsai-Ying Lu, Director of DSET’s Energy Resilience Program.
According to a press release issued by the Presidential Office, during the meeting, President Lai remarked that deepening the strategic economic and trade partnerships between Taiwan and the United States will not only help strengthen cooperation with other like-minded partners in key and innovative technologies, but also ensure supply chain security. This, he emphasized, aligns with the national security interests of Taiwan, the United States, and all democratic partners. He expressed hope that further exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. would help deepen and consolidate democracy.
Vice President Hsiao noted that “resilience” is among President Lai’s top policy priorities, and thanked the delegation for their efforts to identify gaps in Taiwan’s resilience and offer practical solutions. She expressed her hope for continued collaboration to further enhance Taiwan’s overall resilience.
Head of the visiting delegation and former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger also delivered remarks, indicating that on this visit, the delegation worked together with DSET and participants from across Taiwan’s society, as well as with guests from Japan, Australia, and Europe, who joined them to conduct tabletop exercises. He added that they carried out work to test their assumptions about various scenarios that could occur if attempts were made to intimidate or coerce Taiwan and other free societies.
Mr. Pottinger said that he and his colleagues were impressed with the Taiwan team that participated in the tabletop exercises for their creativity and resourcefulness, which he said gives him great confidence that Taiwan and its friends will be able to deter or respond to any intimidation or crisis.
