VP Hsiao gives interview to Lithuania 15min news website

2025/11/21

Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim gave an online interview to Vaidotas Beniušis of Lithuania’s 15min news website, in which she discussed issues including expanded Taiwan-Lithuania cooperation, Taiwan defense preparations and geopolitics.
 
Hsiao stated that facing complicated geopolitics that indicated that there was cooperation between authoritarian states, Taiwan and Lithuania must address the situation and face challenges together. She added that democracies worldwide need to cooperate to counter military coercion and hybrid threats stemming from authoritarian regimes.
 
Taiwanese people are determined to safeguard their freedom and the democratic system, the vice president said. She added that both the government and private sector have worked with other European governments to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian refugees from the Russia-Ukraine war and urged democracies to take further action to sustain shared values and interests.
 
The U.S. is Taiwan’s most important security partner, said Hsiao, expressing appreciation to the country for continuing to review Taiwan’s security needs in line with the Taiwan Relations Act. The U.S. government also provides necessary assistance to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself, such as offering defense sales and new tools highlighted in the National Defense Authorization Act, she added.
 
Taiwan itself is committed to enhancing self-defense capability, having increased its own defense spending by 80 percent over the past eight years, and currently aiming to meet 5 percent of its gross domestic product by 2030, Hsiao said. Several reforms such as extending length of military conscription and working on broader whole-of-society resilience all demonstrate Taiwan’s commitment to defense, she noted.
 
Regarding Taiwan-Lithuania relations, Hsiao said the two sides have potential for cooperation, citing the establishment of a new fast laser research and development center in the southern city of Tainan. Some Taiwanese companies have also forged partnerships with Lithuanian counterparts in the agriculture and biomedical sectors, she added.
 
The vice president further suggested potential cooperation in the drone and defense industries to increase defense resilience for both countries. She concluded by mentioning that Taiwan’s representative office in Lithuania officially uses the name Taiwan and looked forward to continuing developing substantive bilateral economic partnerships across the board.


Source:  Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)