Taipei: President Lai Ching-te on Monday called for closer cooperation among democratic partners to strengthen supply chain and economic resilience and said Taiwan wanted to work with like-minded countries to form “international teams” with them. Speaking at the opening of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, Lai said Taiwan intends to leverage the many advantages of these partners to deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

According to Focus Taiwan, Lai emphasized the importance of leveraging the combined advantages of democracies, economies, and technologies to create more resilient supply chains and economies. He proposed establishing “teams” at different levels to encourage such cooperation. “Taiwan will form national teams in specific fields to keep making our nation stronger. But we will go beyond that, by building international teams to keep leveraging the power of solidarity with other nations,” he stated.

The Yushan Forum, now in its ninth year and themed “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiw
an’s Values, Technology, and Resilience,” is part of Taiwan’s strategy to expand engagement with regional partners. Lai highlighted Taiwan’s efforts to unite democratic partners to safeguard freedom and counter authoritarian expansion, while also seeking to decouple its economy from China’s and diversify into other markets.

Lai provided data on Taiwan’s economic shift, noting that in 2010, 83.8 percent of Taiwan’s outbound investment went to China, but this figure dropped to 3.75 percent last year. Conversely, Taiwanese investment in European Union countries has surged by 650 percent over the past decade.

The United States emerged as Taiwan’s largest export market last year, with exports increasing by 78 percent. Furthermore, shipments to ASEAN and South Asian partner countries rose by 30.5 percent. Lai outlined plans for continued investment in advanced technologies such as silicon photonics, quantum technology, and robotics, while building on Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductor manufacturing and integrate
d circuit design.

Lai also mentioned plans to enhance Taiwan’s defense capabilities, noting that the defense budget is expected to reach 3.32 percent of gross domestic product this year and could rise to 5 percent by 2030. The forum, which concludes on Tuesday, is attended by several international guests, including former Polish President Lech Walesa, former Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra Pal Chaudhry, and former Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo. Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya, a regular attendee of the forum, was also present at the opening ceremony.