US contractors and ex-marine commander arrive in Taiwan to meet leaders and attend defence forum amid rising tension
Retired admiral Chen Yeong-kang, now a legislator from Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang party, will also deliver a keynote speech during the forum.
Topics to be discussed at the forum include Taiwan’s domestic warship and warplane projects, drone development and advanced defence technologies and cooperation, CNA reported.
The group will visit Taiwan’s top weapons builder, the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, and its chief aerospace company, Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation, to discuss potential cooperation on drones and defence technologies.
They will also meet Lai and his deputy, Hsiao Bi-khim, as well as other senior government officials during their stay in Taiwan, the agency said.
It marks the fifth such visit by US arms contractors since the first business forum was held in Taiwan in 2018.
Beijing, which sees Taiwan as its territory to be reunified by force if necessary, has expressed serious concerns during each visit by American contractors. It perceives US arms supplies and military cooperation with Taipei as efforts to bolster separatist forces on the island.
The US, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as independent but is opposed to any unilateral change to the cross-strait status quo by force and is committed to supplying defensive weapons to the island.
On May 23, the People’s Liberation Army launched large-scale war games around Taiwan, practising a blockade of the island as a strong “punishment” for Taiwanese separatist forces. This occurred three days after Lai declared in his inaugural speech that Taiwan and the mainland “are not subordinate to each other”.
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Defence ministers from China and US meet on sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore
He emphasised that Beijing was committed to “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan, but this prospect was being “undermined by Taiwan separatists and external forces”.
Other US contractors taking part in the visit include manufacturer of uncrewed aircraft systems, AeroVironment, aerospace and defence technology provider Northrop Grumman and uncrewed surface vehicle builder MARTAC.