2003 US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference

The United States–Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2003 was held February 12-14, 2003 in San Antonio, Texas. This was the second in a series of ongoing conferences addressing the future of U.S. defense cooperation with Taiwan, the defense procurement process, and providing a progress report on Taiwan’s future defense needs. The conference also looked in-depth at Taiwan’s C4ISR and missile defense programs.

The conference featured keynote addresses by a variety of speakers, including an address by Chen Chao-min, Vice Minister for Armament & Acquisition at Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense. The conference concluded with a summary of the day and a half proceedings by Kurt Campbell, Senior Vice President & Director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Sessions at the United States-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 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, 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 sub-sessions within Session V concentrated on each branch of the services: Army, Air Force, and Navy. These sessions consisted of discussions focusing on the defense procurement process from the perspective of each individual branch.