President Lai receives US security delegation

2024/06/17

President Lai Ching-te vowed that the new government would work closely with like-minded countries to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.

Lai made the remarks while receiving a U.S. security delegation June 13 at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. The group comprised Matthew Pottinger, former U.S. deputy national security advisor, and Ivan Kanapathy, former deputy senior director for Asian affairs on the U.S. White House National Security Council, the PO said.

Both Pottinger and Kanapathy specialize in geopolitics, Lai said, adding that he looked forward to further discussions with them on developments in the Indo-Pacific and Taiwan-U.S. ties.

The president also lauded Pottinger’s new book, “The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan,” set to be released July 1. In it, Pottinger provides invaluable advice on national defense exchanges and the formation of a new military culture for Taiwan, he said.

According to Lai, Pottinger has repeatedly called for global democracies to strengthen cooperation in response to authoritarian expansion, which mirrors Taiwan’s goal of deepening ties with the U.S. and other like-minded democracies. He placed particular emphasis on economic and trade collaboration, as it benefits the people on both sides while ensuring supply chain security.

Lai took the opportunity to express hope that Taiwan and the U.S. will soon solve the issue of double taxation, expedite the next phase of negotiations under the Taiwan-U.S. Initiative on 21st Century Trade and make progress toward a bilateral trade agreement.

In response, Pottinger said that the focus of the trip is to discuss Taiwan’s security, which is closely linked to that of the U.S., Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and other countries. Deterrence costs far less than war, he added, citing lessons learned from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 


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