2024 US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference

The US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2024 was held September 22-24, 2024, at the Logan Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was the 23rd annual event in a series of ongoing conferences addressing the future of U.S. defense cooperation with Taiwan, the defense procurement process, and Taiwan’s defense and national security needs.

Keynote speakers at the event included senior representatives from the Taiwan and U.S. governments. Conference sessions featured a moderator and several speakers on the panel, and some sessions included additional commentators. Each speaker gave a short presentation on the session topic from his or her own viewpoint and expertise. Those presentations were followed by a moderator-led discussion among the panelists, as well as a moderator-driven question and answer period with the attendees. This format offers the maximum amount of time for exchanges among the panelists, as well as between the panel and the audience, allowing the sessions to become a forum for substantial and valuable interaction and discussion.

Keynote Speeches

2024 Main Keynote Speech by General Heng-Pu Hsu, Vice Minister (Armaments), Ministry of National Defense

Keynote Introduction by Ingrid Larson, Managing Director, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)

Luncheon Keynote Speech by Alexander Huang, Special Advisor to the Chairman & Director of International Affairs, Kuomintang (KMT)

Dinner Keynote Speech by Jed Royal, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense

Closing Keynote Speech by Greg Hermsmeyer, Director, Office of Security Assistance, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Conference History

The first conference in this series was in St. Petersburg, Florida, in March of 2002. Former Taiwan Minister of National Defense Tang Yiau-ming gave the keynote address. The second conference in the series was held in February 2003 in San Antonio, Texas, the third in October 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona, the fourth in September 2005 in San Diego, California, the fifth in September 2006 in Denver, Colorado, and the sixth in September 2007 in Annapolis, Maryland.

Taiwan’s Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min gave the keynote address at the seventh conference in the series, held in September 2008 on Amelia Island, Florida. The eighth conference was held in September 2009 in Charlottesville, Virginia, the ninth in October 2010 in Cambridge, Maryland, and the tenth in September 2011 in Richmond, Virginia. The eleventh conference was held in September 2012 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the twelfth in September 2013 in Annapolis, Maryland, the thirteenth in October 2014 in Williamsburg, Virginia, the fourteenth in October 2015 in Williamsburg, Virginia, the fifteenth in October 2016 in Williamsburg, Virginia, the sixteenth in Princeton, New Jersey in October 2017, the seventeenth in Annapolis, Maryland in October 2018, the eighteenth in Ellicott City, Maryland in October 2019, and the nineteenth as a virtual conference in October 2020. The 20th conference took place in Leesburg, Virginia in October 2021, and the twenty-first in October 2022 in Richmond, Virginia. The twenty-second conference took place in 2023 in Williamsburg, Virginia.

More Information

The website for the conference is located at www.taiwandefenseconference.com.