2002 US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference

The United States-Taiwan Defense Summit (now known as the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference) was the first in a series of ongoing sector-specific events organized by the US-Taiwan Business Council. It was held on March 10-12, 2002 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Subsequent events focused on defense and national security issues, on biotechnology, and on semiconductors. This Defense and National Security event provided the opportunity to bring together the U.S. and Taiwan government and private sectors to clarify, for both the American and the Taiwan business and policy making communities, the future of U.S. defense sales to Taiwan and the defense procurement process.

Keynote speakers at this inaugural event included Taiwan’s Minister of National Defense Tang Yiau-ming, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly.

Sessions at the United States-Taiwan Defense Summit featured one moderator and several speakers. Each speaker presented a short summary of a paper on the session topic from his or her own viewpoint, and the presentation was followed by a moderator-driven question and answer period. This format provided the maximum amount of time for exchanges between the panel and the audience, offering a forum for substantial and valuable interaction and discussion.

Three breakout sessions during the Monday program concentrated on each branch of the services: Army, Navy, and Air Force. These sessions consisted of roundtable discussions, focusing on the defense procurement process from the perspective of each individual branch.