President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has affirmed that Taiwan has the ability to protect itself. Tsai was speaking on Thursday while receiving retired Admiral Philip Davidson. Davidson is in Taiwan leading a delegation from US-based think tank the National Bureau of Asian Research.
The delegation is in Taiwan to discuss regional security issues. Davidson has recently warned of a potential attack on Taiwan by China in 2027. Observers have focused on 2027 because that year is the hundred year anniversary of the Chinese military’s founding.
Tsai thanked Davidson for his concern about the security situation in the Taiwan Strait while he led US forces in the Indo-Pacific from 2018 to 2021.
President Tsai stresses that in the face of the expansion of authoritarianism, Taiwan must enhance its self-defense capabilities to protect the values of democracy and freedom. She says the government has plans to strengthen national defense and to restructure the military.
Meanwhile, Davidson says that he has seen Taiwan’s democracy flourish as China oppresses the country. But he says he has also seen vitality in the Taiwanese people and the growth of industry in Taiwan. Davidson adds he hopes to learn from Tsai about the development of democracy in Taiwan and looks forward to further improvements in Taiwan-US relations.