This Tuesday, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) met with a delegation from The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), an American think tank focused on Asia policy-making. The delegation was led by former commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command John Aquilino, who spoke with the president about Taiwan’s national defense.
Addressing the delegation, Lai said the government will continue to promote national defense reforms and enhance Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities. He highlighted Taiwan’s strategically important position at the forefront of the first island chain and stated his firm belief that Taiwan and the U.S. will continue to build a closer economic and trade relationship. In addition, a special budget will be prepared in the future to push the national defense budget to more than 3% of the country’s GDP, he said.
Lai also thanked the NBR and Aquilino for their research, which has enabled the international community to better understand Taiwan’s role in maintaining regional security. Aquilino affirmed that Taiwan’s thriving democracy is crucial to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, emphasizing that he and the NBR will continue to support U.S.-Taiwan relations.