On August 28, 2024, US-Taiwan Business Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers spoke at “Assessing Taiwan’s Defense Production Capabilities and Strategy,” an event hosted by the Global Taiwan Institute in Washington, D.C.

In announcing the event, the Global Taiwan Institute said,

To address the People Republic of China’s increased aggression in the Taiwan Strait, the Taiwanese government has been forced to improve its defense readiness by procuring more weapons and defense articles—primarily from the United States. However, with US foreign military sales (FMS) facing ever expanding backlogs, Taiwan has had to find ways to supplement its long list of delayed weapons deliveries. So far, Taiwan has managed to do this through both co-producing defense articles with the United States in Taiwan and expanding its own domestic defense industry. Unlike other countries, Taiwan can do this because it has the industrial capability and capacity to produce high end equipment. However, while these are positive steps, Taiwan continues to struggle with a coherent defense production strategy. Though the Tsai administration and current Lai administration have pledged to make the Taiwanese military more asymmetric, military spending still tends to go largely toward more traditional symmetric weaponry. This expert panel will examine what Taiwan’s defense production strategy may look like under the new Lai administration, developments in US-Taiwan coproduction, and successes and challenges in Taiwan’s defense industrial base.

The Council thanks the Global Taiwan Institute for the invitation to participate in this engaging discussion.