2008 US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference

The United States–Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2008 was held September 28-30, 2008 on Amelia Island, Florida. This was the seventh 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.

The 2008 conference featured keynote a address from Chen Chao-min, Taiwan’s Minister of National Defense. Additional keynote speeches were provided by David Sedney, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asian & Pacific Security Affairs at the U.S. Department of Defense, and by John Norris, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian & Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Sessions at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference featured a moderator and several speakers, and some sessions included additional commentators. Each speaker presented a short summary of a paper on the session topic from his or her own viewpoint, presentations that were then followed by a moderator-driven question and answer period, as well as a moderator-led discussion among the panelists. This format provided the maximum amount of time for exchanges between the panel and the audience, as well as between the panelists, offering a forum for substantial and valuable interaction and discussion.

Three sub-sessions within Session IV concentrated on specific issues from a more narrow perspective. This year, the themes for the breakout sessions were Space, Information & Network Security, as well as the U.S. presidential election and potential implications for the U.S.-Taiwan relationship.