Media Mention: USTBC President Interview about Tsai Ing-wen’s defense legacy

US-Taiwan Business Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers appeared on TaiwanPlus News on May 14, 2024. He discussed outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen’s policy on national defense and the challenges she faced during her term.

Responding to Taiwan’s doubled defense budget in the last 8 years under Tsai, Hammond-Chambers said,

[President Tsai] had two challenges. One, she had to play catch-up because force modernization is a year-on-year effort. President Tsai comes into office and the previous administrations – both in Taiwan and the United States – had all but ignored the threat from the Chinese in the Taiwan Strait.

Later, he responded to Taiwan’s increased cooperation with the United States to acquire advanced weaponry.

[President Tsai] worked with the United States to regularize and normalize the arms sales process and security assistance. Secondly, she worked with the United States to raise the ambition in U.S.-Taiwan security cooperation. So that we could talk about things that previously was not being discussed.

Source: TaiwanPlus