On February 19, 2025, a delegation from the American think tanks RAND Corporation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) visited DSET. Led by Jude Blanchette, Director of RAND’s China Research Center, the delegation included Seth Jones, Chair of the Defense Security Program at CSIS, Daniel Byman, Director of the War, Extraordinary Threats, and Terrorism Program, and Gerard DiPippo, Senior Research Fellow at the China Research Center.
During this important visit, the think tank scholars met with DSET’s Du Wen-ling, Executive Director Chang Chi-Cheng, and Lu Tsai-ying to discuss critical issues such as Taiwan’s national resilience, geopolitical challenges, and Taiwan-US communication strategies. Both parties engaged in discussions about the most pressing issues in the current regional landscape, including strategies for building and strengthening national resilience, policy approaches to geopolitical challenges, and potential improvements to bilateral communication mechanisms.
DSET Director Du Wen-ling highlighted the Taiwanese government’s forward-looking perspective in integrating geopolitical and technological research areas, explaining that the think tank has established multiple research collaboration projects with key think tanks in Washington and the European Union. RAND’s Director Blanchette highly commended this effort, stating that DSET’s establishment represents a significant breakthrough in professional think tank development in Taiwan. He emphasized that the organization not only focuses on researching critical issues but also helps cultivate professional talent and establish a comprehensive research ecosystem.
Both parties reached a significant consensus on social resilience, identifying it as one of the key areas for future Taiwan-US cooperation. The discussion also addressed emerging issues in the digital transformation era, such as information security and digital resilience, reflecting the high level of cooperation and professional complementarity between Taiwan and the US when facing new types of challenges. The experts agreed to build upon this consensus, plan more concrete collaboration projects, and strengthen mutual trust and cooperation between Taiwan and the US through continuous research and exchange.