Taiwan-U.S. defense cooperation upgraded: U.S. Department of War officials will be permanently stationed at Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense

The Department of Defense's "Taiwan-U.S. Department of Defense Joint Cooperation Assessment Project" will be upgraded and expanded. The U.S. Department of War will dispatch expert representatives from the Office of the Undersecretary for Policy (OSW-P) and the defense think tank "The Center for Defense Analysis" (IDA) to be stationed at the Department of Defense headquarters in Taiwan for a long time. In this regard, Su Ziyun, director of the Institute of Defense Strategy and Resources of the National Defense Academy, said that this move means that the Ministry of National Defense of my country can communicate directly with the Pentagon of the United States, which will make strategic communication between Taiwan and the United States smoother and help Taiwan improve the resilience of the whole society and the overall defense capabilities.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Dingyu pointed out that the presence of U.S. Department of War officials in my country’s Ministry of National Defense is the highest level of military exchanges between the two countries and demonstrates that the Taiwan-U.S. partnership has become stronger. At a time when China is vigorously manipulating "suspiciousness about the United States" and "suspiciousness about Taiwan", this move can strengthen mutual trust between Taiwan and the United States and enhance Taiwan's security.

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Su Ziyun said that the Office of the Under Secretary for Policy is responsible for U.S. war plans and information security. After being stationed in the Ministry of National Defense in the future, it means that the Ministry of National Defense of my country can communicate directly with the Pentagon of the United States, making strategic communication between Taiwan and the United States smoother. The Office of the Under Secretary for Policy involves division of labor in the fields of information, homeland defense, etc., which will also help Taiwan improve the resilience of the whole society and the overall national defense capabilities. An important role among them should be John, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of War for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs. Lu (John Noh).

Su Ziyun pointed out that there are currently "American teachers" in Taiwan who are responsible for combat and tactical levels to assist in training, and experts dispatched to Taiwan by the Office of the Undersecretary for Policy of the Ministry of War are at the strategic and policy level. In the past, messages had to be conveyed through the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) liaison group. The presence of officials directly under the U.S. Department of War will be a positive signal of mutual trust between Taiwan and the United States.

Su Ziyun believes that it will have very positive significance for the next Hanguang exercise in the future, the setting of relevant exercise subjects, and the sharing of intelligence information with allied countries.

As for the expert representative of the National Defense Analysis Center, a national defense think tank, Su Ziyun believes that the "National Defense Analysis Center" is similar in nature to the National Defense Academy of my country, playing a "Track 1.5" role and able to communicate and coordinate with other unofficial organizations in Taiwan. One with the Deputy Minister's Office for Policy is for the government, and the other is for private academic units or think tanks.