U.S. 'applauds' Lai's efforts to boost Taiwan's defense: AIT executive

Washington, Sept. 26 (CNA) The United States "strongly encourages and applauds" the efforts made by President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) administration to bolster Taiwan's self-defense through reforms and investments, said Ingrid Larson, managing director of American Institute in Taiwan's (AIT) Washington Office.

Larson made the remarks on Sept. 23 when introducing Taiwan's Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) as the keynote speaker at the 2024 U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia.

In her speech, Larson said that throughout the past year, Beijing has continued to employ a whole-of-government approach using a range of diplomatic, informational, military, financial, intelligence, law enforcement and economic measures to pressure and coerce Taiwan.

One example she raised is how the Scottish city of Edinburgh ended a year-long effort to have a sister city relationship with Kaohsiung due to Chinese pressure.

"Such actions are not conducive to promoting people-to-people ties, or the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait differences," she added.

Larson said the U.S. "strongly encourages and applauds the Lai administration's early efforts to continue to bolster Taiwan's self-defense through reforms and resource investments," such as the proposal to increase Taiwan's 2025 defense budget by nearly 6 percent to approximately US$20 billion.

The U.S. also welcomes Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Koo's (顧立雄) support for significant defense reforms, including the establishment of a new entity within the Ministry of National Defense modeled after the United States Defense Innovation Unit, she noted.

She also touched on the topic of Taiwan's whole-of-society resilience, saying that the Lai administration recently launched a presidential committee -- the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee -- and named a minister without portfolio to coordinate between Taiwan authorities, industry, academia and civil society.

"We support his approach," Larson said.

While the U.S. remains committed to enabling Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability, she noted that maintaining peace and stability goes beyond conventional defense, and it should include the enhancement of Taiwan's whole-of-society resilience to ensure Taiwan is resilient, secure and interconnected within both the global community and global economy.

"This means strengthening the U.S.-Taiwan unofficial relationship, raising global awareness of the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, expanding Taiwan's international space, and bolstering Taiwan's economic diplomacy," she added.

According to Larson, a major focus of the U.S. government has been to bolster Taiwan's whole-of-society resilience, an effort that spans critical infrastructure protection, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities, cyber defense, food security, economic interdependence, energy resilience and financial connectivity.

Larson added that deepening ties with the private sector can also help maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

"When U.S. businesses like you pursue opportunities with Taiwan, you are helping to realize a Taiwan that is more integrated and not isolated, more resilient and less vulnerable to coercion," she told the American business representatives.

In addition, Larson said Lai's appointment of Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) as Taiwan's Foreign Minister signaled Lai's commitment to building U.S.-Taiwan economic ties, given Lin brings "robust experience and a vision for economic diplomacy."

She said that it is in the U.S. commercial interest to deepen the country's economic ties with Taiwan -- its eighth largest trade partner.

With initiatives such as the CHIPS and Science Act, the U.S. welcomes cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturers from Taiwan to come to the United States and build chip ecosystems, Larson said.

She noted the Biden administration is currently working with Congress to reduce the tax burden on U.S. companies in Taiwan and Taiwanese companies in the U.S.