Deputy Foreign Minister Chen attends panel in Canada

2025/11/28

Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi attended a panel Nov. 25 in Ottawa, Canada, elaborating on Taiwan’s commitment to enhance its self-defense capabilities and to continue to strengthen the Taiwan-Canada relationship.
 
Organized by Canadian think tank Macdonald-Laurier Institute, the panel is titled “Strengthening Taiwan’s Resilience: A Forward Vision for Taiwan-Canada Strategic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.” The event focused on Taiwan’s position in global security and was attended by Canadian diplomatic officials and opinion leaders.
 
Chen said during his speech that Taiwan is a front-line state countering China’s authoritarian expansion. The country is expected to increase its defense spending to 5 percent of its gross domestic product by 2030 and will continue to strengthen its military reserve system and asymmetric warfare capabilities, he added, condemning China’s military exercises, economic coercion and gray zone tactics which all threaten global security.
 
Taiwan produces 95 percent of the world’s advanced chips, Chen said, stressing the geopolitical importance of the Taiwan Strait as a major international shipping lane. He added that Taiwan is committed to working with Canada and other like-minded partners to maintain a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
 
The deputy minister further took the opportunity to thank Canada for sending naval vessels to transit the Taiwan Strait seven times over the past three years and publicly reiterating the importance of cross-strait peace and stability in global events like the Group of Seven meetings.
 
Chen expressed similar thoughts at an event hosted by Judy Sgro, Canadian House of Commons chair of the standing committee on international trade, Nov. 24 in Ottawa. He also expressed appreciation for longstanding support from the Parliament of Canada and invited Canadian parliamentarians to visit Taiwan.
 
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the event was also attended by Deputy Economic Minister Cynthia Kiang; Harry Ho-jen Tseng, head of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada; 14 Canadian cross-party parliamentarians; and members of the Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce of North America. The participants discussed issues spanning the cultivation of Taiwan’s next-generation business leaders, Taiwan-Canada economic and trade cooperation and Canada’s support for Taiwan’s international participation, the ministry said.


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