A delegation from the “New American Security Center” and the “Next Generation National Security Leaders Program” visited Taiwan today (November 14), led by former US Indo-Pacific Command Commander John Aquilino to meet with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. Aquilino pointed out that their visit is believed to help continue to promote US-Taiwan relations and maintain regional peace.
President Lai Ching-te, during the meeting with the delegation from the “New American Security Center” (CNAS) and the “Next Generation National Security Leaders Program” (Next Gen), emphasized the importance of strength in bringing about peace and the necessity of unity in overcoming challenges in the face of the threat of authoritarian expansion. Taiwan will continue to push for defense reforms, enhance social defense resilience, deepen cooperation with global democratic partners to uphold the values and way of life of democracy and freedom. He also expressed anticipation for the delegation to continue providing input for deepening Taiwan-US relations and exploring more cooperation opportunities.
Admiral John Aquilino, in his speech, first expressed gratitude to President Lai for the audience. He also thanked the opportunity on behalf of the New American Security Center to lead the future most outstanding young American leaders to visit, believing it will help continue to promote US-Taiwan relations and maintain regional peace.
Aquilino emphasized that for the United States, maintaining the US-Taiwan partnership is crucial to ensuring regional peace and stability so that countries in the region can continue to prosper and children can grow up in a peaceful world. Such exchanges are essential in building the foundation of the relationship between the two sides.
He stated that the members of the delegation today are future leaders of the United States who will continue to stay in touch with Taiwan’s partners, engage in ongoing dialogues, and work together towards achieving the goal of peace and stability.
President Lai Ching-te expressed a warm welcome to Admiral John Aquilino and his delegation, stating that the “New American Security Center” is an important think tank in Washington, DC, researching US national security and defense policies, and the members of the “Next Generation National Security Leaders Program” are elite young talents in national security and diplomacy fields. Through this visit, not only will it enhance understanding of Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific situation but also prolong the friendship between Taiwan and the US.
President Lai expressed on behalf of the people of Taiwan the warmest welcome and congratulated the American people on their recent presidential and congressional elections. Taiwan will continue to deepen its partnership with the US in various fields and engage in various cooperations.
President Lai pointed out, “During Admiral Aquilino’s tenure as the US Indo-Pacific Command, he strongly supported security cooperation and training between Taiwan and the US.” Over the years, the US government has continued to sell arms to Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the “Six Assurances” to ensure Taiwan’s security through concrete actions, demonstrating the importance the US places on maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He thanked the Biden administration for supporting Taiwan in enhancing its self-defense capabilities and looked forward to working closely with the future Trump administration to jointly promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
President Lai mentioned, “Facing the threat of authoritarian expansion, we are very clear that only strength can bring peace and only unity can overcome challenges. Taiwan will continue to push for defense reforms, enhance social defense resilience, and deepen cooperation with global democratic partners to defend the values and lifestyle of democracy and freedom.”
President Lai stated that Taiwan and the US share the values of democracy and freedom, and a stable Taiwan-US relationship is the cornerstone of peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. He thanked the members of the delegation for their support for Taiwan and looked forward to everyone’s continued input in deepening Taiwan-US relations and exploring more cooperation opportunities.
The visiting guests were accompanied by Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and met with President Lai at the Presidential Office, with National Security Council Secretary-General David Chu also in attendance.