Tsai Ing-wen: Taiwan’s security is closely related to the security of the Indo-Pacific and the world | Taipei Security Dialogue | Indo-Pacific Region | National Defense Academy

[The Epoch Times, November 8, 2023](Epoch Times reporter Zhong Yuan Taiwan reported) President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China attended the opening event of the “2023 Taipei Security Dialogue” today (8th) and pointed out that Taiwan’s security is closely related to the Indo-Pacific region and peace. The security of the world is closely related.

The “2023 Taipei Security Dialogue” (2023 Taipei Security Dialogue), held by the think tank of the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China and the National Defense Security Research Institute, debuted today at the Humble House Ellie in Taipei. President Tsai Ing-wen was invited to deliver a speech, and heavyweight scholars and experts from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Japan, Australia, India, Singapore, Turkey and other countries attended the meeting. Together with many scholars from Taiwan, they paid attention and analysis. The CCP’s challenge to global order and democracy.

Tsai Ing-wen: As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will continue to maintain regional peace and stability

Tsai Ing-wen said in her speech in English that she welcomes everyone to attend the “2023 Taipei Security Dialogue”, especially friends who have come to Taiwan to attend the meeting. She would also like to take this opportunity to thank the National Defense and Security Research Institute for organizing this event, which brings together global experts to discuss important global security issues.

Tsai Ing-wen said, “We are in an era full of strong uncertainty. In recent years, major conflicts and unprecedented epidemics have undermined the stability of the global economy and threatened the world order. Today, Ukraine continues to fight against Russia’s invasion, and conflicts continue to break out in the Middle East .In the face of these increasingly serious security challenges, it is clear that we cannot take peace for granted.”

She pointed out that in order to ensure that the global order is not undermined in this unstable period, we must firmly defend liberal democracy, and the most urgent threat to this value may come from authoritarian regimes. Rising “grey zone” activity is seriously destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, including maritime intimidation in the South China Sea and East China Sea. Taiwan continues to encounter challenges. The air defense identification zone is subject to increasingly frequent intrusions, large-scale military exercises are held nearby, and it also faces economic coercion and continuous cyber attacks.

“Overall, these measures are intended to shake the Taiwanese people’s confidence in democracy and weaken their determination to defend themselves,” Tsai Ing-wen said. “But despite these challenges, we are deeply encouraged by the international community’s declaration of support for regional peace and stability. .”

Tsai Ing-wen said that in May this year, the leaders of the “Group of Seven Major Industrial Countries” (G7) issued a joint statement after the Hiroshima Summit, reaffirming that “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are indispensable to the security and prosperity of the international community.” Just last month, during his state visit to the United States, Australian Prime Minister Albanese and US President Biden jointly expressed their opposition to unilateral changes in the cross-strait status quo. Previously, many national leaders also expressed concerns about the security of this region.

“The people of Taiwan are determined to protect our hard-won freedom and democracy.” Tsai Ing-wen emphasized, “Therefore, our first task is to strengthen self-defense capabilities and social resilience.” She said that in the past year, Taiwan resumed its one-year obligation Military service, strengthen the actual combat training of conscripts, adjust the force structure, and ensure that brothers and sisters in the national army can meet the challenges of modern warfare. Taiwan’s defense budget has also continued to increase for eight consecutive years, and will grow by 7.7% next year compared with this year, accounting for approximately 2.5% of GDP.

Tsai Ing-wen said that in September this year, Taiwan’s first prototype of “domestic-made submarines” was launched, which is a milestone in the domestic-made naval ship plan. Many people thought this plan was too ambitious, but all these achievements prove Taiwan’s unwavering determination to defend the country. In addition to building combat capabilities, Taiwan must also counter non-traditional threats. Authoritarian actors are waging cognitive warfare with false information in an attempt to exploit and divide Taiwan’s free and democratic society.

“As a democratic country, Taiwan’s response to false and false information is in line with democratic principles.” Tsai Ing-wen said, “We provide the public with the knowledge and tools to refute and report false or misleading information, maintaining the free flow of information and rejecting information manipulation. Maintain a careful balance.” The government immediately clarifies false information to the public and shares Taiwan’s expertise with international partners. Taiwan’s civil society organizations have stepped up to provide media literacy training courses, detailed reports on misinformation, and innovative fact-checking tools.

Tsai Ing-wen said that Taiwan has also strengthened the resilience of society by improving reserve church training and civil defense. In addition to assisting military operations, Taiwan’s civil defense system also provides the task of ensuring the continued functioning of society. Taiwan has adopted comprehensive countermeasures to strengthen layers of deterrence and national defense independence. The people of Taiwan understand that defending the country is vital to themselves, their neighbors, and their partners.

She wants to remind everyone that Taiwan’s security is closely related to the security of the Indo-Pacific region and the world. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will continue to maintain regional peace and stability, and expand and deepen partnerships with all stakeholders. Taiwan remains committed to democracy and has proven to be a safe and reliable partner. As democracies around the world face their greatest test in a generation, “it is vital that we work together to curb adventurism and aggression in the region to ensure a peaceful future and the continuation of our shared values.”

Tsai Ing-wen said that she thanked everyone for attending today to help Taiwan better understand the threats it faces and outline a vision for sustainable freedom, democracy and security in the region. She believes today’s discussion can contribute to a freer and more peaceful international community.

The distinguished guests present today include Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Lin Jialong, Secretary-General of the National Security Council Gu Lixiong, Minister of National Defense Qiu Guozheng, Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council Qiu Taisan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Huang Chongyan, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Security Council Xu Sijian, National Defense and Security Research Chairman of the Academy Huo Shouye and representatives of diplomatic envoys from various countries in Taiwan.

Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei#