President Lai meets delegation from European Parliament Committee on Security and Defence

On the morning of March 31, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation from the European Parliament's Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE). In remarks, President Lai thanked the European Parliament for its longstanding, staunch support for Taiwan. He emphasized that in the face of growing authoritarian expansion, Taiwan understands the need to steadily bolster its self-defense capabilities, overall societal resilience, and collaboration with like-minded partners, as only through strength can peace and stability in the region be ensured. President Lai expressed hope that Taiwan and the European Union will continue expanding cooperation in key strategic industries and join hands to safeguard our cherished universal values such as democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights.

I would first like to warmly welcome our esteemed guests from the European Parliament. This is the first official delegation from the SEDE to visit Taiwan since it was upgraded to a full standing committee last year, making your trip all the more meaningful. I thank you all for the great importance you attach to Taiwan and for your support.

I also wish to extend appreciation to the European Parliament for its strong backing of Taiwan. In January, resolutions on the annual implementation reports for the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy and Common Security and Defence Policy were adopted. They reaffirmed the EU's opposition to China's distortion of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 and to the use of force or coercion to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. Moreover, the European Parliament supports the continued deepening of Taiwan-EU cooperation and exchanges across various domains. This demonstrates the EU's commitment to upholding democratic values and underscores that Taiwan is one of its key partners in the Indo-Pacific.

In the face of growing authoritarian expansion, Taiwan understands the need to steadily bolster our self-defense capabilities, overall societal resilience, and collaboration with like-minded partners. Only through strength can we ensure peace and stability in the region. Therefore, in recent years, Taiwan has actively advanced the domestic development of aircraft, naval vessels, and unmanned vehicles. The government has also proposed a US$40 billion special defense budget spanning eight years. It aims to boost national defense and build more resilient defense systems. Defense spending, as it is defined by NATO, will be 3.32 percent of GDP this year, and we expect it to reach 5 percent of GDP by 2030.

After my inauguration, I established the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee under the Presidential Office. Integrating the strengths of the central government, local governments, and the private sector, it aims to comprehensively expand Taiwan's risk management and crisis response capabilities. By strengthening civilian force training, strategic material preparation, the healthcare system, and critical infrastructure, Taiwan is creating a solid foundation of societal resilience for national security.

Taiwan has long stood on the frontline against authoritarian expansion and hybrid threats. We are glad to share the experience we have gained with the EU and other friends and allies in the international community. By joining hands, we can safeguard regional peace and the democratic way of life we hold dear. Looking ahead, I hope that with the support of our guests here today and the European Parliament, Taiwan and the EU will be able to form mechanisms for even closer cooperation in key strategic industries including drones, semiconductors, cybersecurity, and aerospace. Together, we can create safe, trusted, and resilient democratic supply chains to maintain the security and autonomy of key sectors.

I would like to emphasize that democratic cooperation is not about opposing anyone else, but rather about protecting our cherished universal values such as democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights. In closing, I would like to once again thank our guests for visiting Taiwan at a time of such intense geopolitical shifts, expressing their support through concrete action. I hope that this visit will further deepen mutual understanding and trust between Taiwan and the EU and lay an even more solid foundation for future collaboration. I wish you all a pleasant and productive stay.

SEDE Chair Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann then delivered remarks, stating that although the members of the delegation come from different member states and political groups, they are united in a common purpose, which is to deepen their understanding, listen carefully, and strengthen their cooperation with Taiwan. She continued on to say that their visit has particular importance for them, as it is the first mission of the SEDE to Taiwan since it became a full standing committee, and that it takes place at a very serious moment. Europe is waking up to new security realities, she said, first triggered by Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. In addition, she continued, war in the Middle East is now drawing much of the international community's attention, and there is also growing instability in the broader strategic environment, with many asking whether this could create new risks for Taiwan.

Chair Strack-Zimmermann stated that for this reason, it is important for Europe to be present, attentive, and clear. From Russia to the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific, she said, war and threats of war make it difficult not to see the situation as one increasingly unstable security complex. The chair continued on to say that the delegation is here because Taiwan matters to Europe, and that Taiwan matters as a democracy, as an economic and technological partner, and as an important actor in the global trading system. Taiwan also matters because peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are directly relevant not only for this region, but also for European security and prosperity, she said.

The chair indicated that Europe is also going through an important change; in response to Russia's war against Ukraine, it is strengthening its approach to security and defense. She noted that Europe is investing more, is thinking more seriously about preparedness and resilience, and is paying closer attention to the protection of critical technologies and supply chains, and that in this respect, Europe and Taiwan face different situations but understand and are affected by many of the same challenges. She then stated that their message is clear and balanced: They support stability, support dialogue, and oppose coercion and any unilateral change to the status quo by force, while also remaining committed to a responsible and pragmatic European approach.

Chair Strack-Zimmermann said that they also believe cooperation between Europe and Taiwan should continue to grow in practical ways, including areas such as secure supply chains, semiconductors, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and defense industrial resilience. These are not only economic issues, she said, but also security issues. She closed her remarks by saying that the delegation has come with a genuine wish to deepen practical cooperation with Taiwan.

The delegation also included Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Nicolás Pascual De La Parte of the European People's Party, Vice-chair of the Delegation for Relations with the Countries of Central America José Cepeda, and Vice-chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet, as well as MEPs Mārtiņš Staķis and
Nikolas Farantouris. They were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Head of the European Economic and Trade Office Lutz Güllner.