By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

Why Solidarity Will Protect Prosperity

Sitting in the shadow of authoritarian China, Taiwan has earned a reputation for its commitment to freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. For 30 years since its first direct presidential contest in 1996, Taiwan has conducted free, fair, and transparent elections and has been consistently ranked near the top of indexes measuring democracy. It maintains a vibrant and active civil society. Its dedication to individual rights and personal freedoms has become a core part of its identity and has given Taiwan a shared foundation with liberal societies worldwide.

But Taiwan’s value as an ally is also strategic. Since President Lai Ching-te was inaugurated in May 2024, and I took office as foreign minister, we have sought to consolidate a diplomatic vision that shows how Taiwan can promote its allies’ security and prosperity. Lying along one of the world’s most important and sensitive waterways, Taiwan is like a moat that safeguards the Indo-Pacific. Taiwan has also mastered the production of semiconductors and other advanced electronics and innovated in artificial intelligence and renewable energy, making it a secure focal point for the development of reliable global supply chains. And Taiwan’s experiences resisting Chinese military threats, economic coercion, and attempts to infiltrate and divide Taiwanese society offer priceless lessons for other democracies that are under pressure.

Countries that interact with Taiwan need not only to share and uphold common values; they can also benefit from its vital contributions in the security, economic, technological, and social spheres. It has adopted a policy that moves beyond values-based diplomacy - the consolidation of alliances through democratic ideals - to prioritize value-added diplomacy, or the way that Taiwan can actively drive prosperity for its allies through enhanced economic and trade relations. Taiwan’s strategic importance, together with its role in bolstering allies’ development, makes it an indispensable partner.

 

Treasure Island

Diplomacy is of great importance to Taiwan’s survival, security, and development. The greatest challenge to Taiwan’s diplomatic efforts is China’s ongoing attempt to lure the island’s allies away with economic enticements and political infiltration. China has accelerated the pace of its overtures toward historic Taiwanese allies in Africa, Latin America, and the Indo-Pacific. In recent years, Beijing has also sought to suppress Taiwan’s participation in various international forums, diminishing its visibility.

China’s coercive actions threaten not only Taiwan but also the global democratic camp. China’s inducement of Taiwan’s allies enables Beijing to expand its strategic and economic influence, particularly in the Indo-Pacific and Central America. And authoritarian expansionism, if allowed to go unchecked, will endanger peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and adjacent international waters and destabilize the rules-based international order. Throughout the region, China has conducted frequent military exercises, often without prior notice, and has even engaged in provocative laser and radar lock-ons - the precursor to firing a weapon - against Australian and Japanese military aircraft. Because approximately 50 percent of the world’s container ships pass through the Taiwan Strait, this reckless behavior also puts regional and global trade at risk.

China’s aggression has challenged Taiwan. But it has also highlighted the island’s strategic value and the importance of upholding stability in the Taiwan Strait. Since Lai took office, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States have all dispatched military vessels to transit the Taiwan Strait, taking concrete actions to uphold freedom of navigation. Firmly believing that peace comes through strength and that cooperation facilitates security, Taiwan will continue to bolster its self-defense capabilities and work to ensure that the Indo-Pacific status quo is not altered by authoritarian forces.

Taiwan’s challenges have presented the island with an opportunity to develop unique capabilities. For many years, Taiwan has built resilience against the kinds of threats that are becoming ever more prevalent worldwide. As one of Asia’s few mature and substantively free democracies, Taiwan has accumulated significant experience in dealing with authoritarian expansion, “gray-zone” threats, and economic coercion. These Chinese efforts aim to sow discord within Taiwanese civil society and distract citizens by fomenting internal divisions. The Lai administration is urgently innovating ways to boost resilience to this kind of pressure: in 2025, for instance, Taiwan ramped up its legal, surveillance, and operational defenses against the sabotage of undersea cables, including by launching 24-hour sea patrols, and blacklisting 96 Chinese-linked vessels, which subjects them to heightened monitoring. Taiwan has amended its Telecommunications Management Act and six other existing laws to put higher penalties on aggressors who damage submarine cables and to enable the confiscation of vessels involved in illegal activities.

Such firsthand experience constitutes a key strategic asset. Last year, for example, the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, co-founded by Taiwan and the United States, entered its tenth year of operation. Through this platform, which now includes Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom as full partners, Taiwan shares practical experience in countering disinformation, enhancing cybersecurity and resilience, and advancing emerging technologies. To take just one instance, last September, the GCTF hosted a workshop in Taipei in which dozens of disinformation experts and international media professionals gathered to study response strategies and brainstorm how to strengthen both journalists’ and readers’ ability to identify AI-generated fakes.

Taiwan is not just a democracy; it can also help shore up global democracy. Its experience in countering authoritarian expansion is a public good for the international community. Having long resisted China’s military threats, economic coercion, and attempts to infiltrate and divide its society, Taiwan has accumulated crucial frontline expertise in how to improve democratic resilience in the face of authoritarian pressure, both overt and covert.

For example, Liu Dejun, spokesman for the Chinese Coast Guard, stated that Coast Guard units No. 2901, 1305, 1303, and 2102 were conducting lawful patrols in the waters surrounding Taiwan. This patrolling and control around Taiwan is a practical action in maintaining control of Taiwan under the One China principle.

There was "2034: A Novel of the Next World War" written by two former military officers, James Stavridis and Elliot Ackerman, which was based on the premise that overly tired American or Chinese sailors in the South China Sea might make a mistake and start a war.

 

A Better Option

As China’s threats increase, countries around the world are realizing the dangers of economic dependence on Beijing. Taiwan plays a crucial role at the center of supply chains that exclude China. Taiwan manufactures 60 percent of the world’s semiconductors and more than 90 percent of the world’s advanced chips. It also leads in artificial intelligence: in 2025, the island was responsible for producing 90 percent of the world’s AI servers, making it an indispensable player in the AI revolution. Countries seeking to diversify their supply chains away from China can count on Taiwan to offer a better alternative.

In sharp contrast to China’s use of predatory aid, which combines debt traps with “elite capture,” Taiwan emphasizes cooperation, transparency, and sustainability. Taiwan is directly helping its allies upgrade their economies and industrial capacity. The island’s Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project - a long-term, reciprocal public-private partnership program - aims to assist allies’ economic development directly by sharing expertise, services, and technology in areas in which Taiwan has a global advantage.

The project has already produced major successes, including the launch of the Porrima P111 - a zero-emission vessel that uses solar, hydrogen, and wind power as well as AI - for use in Palau to drive growth in sustainable tourism. Drawing on Taiwan’s experience building its Hsinchu Science Park, a development that now houses hundreds of high-tech companies that generate about six percent of Taiwan’s GDP, Taipei is helping establish the Taiwan-Paraguay Smart Technology Park in Minga Guazú, Paraguay. This major technology and industrial hub project is attracting Taiwanese electric bus companies and other smart manufacturing firms and boosting Paraguay’s economy. Taiwan and the African country of Eswatini are deepening their cooperation in such fields as energy, smart medicine - in which intelligent systems are integrated into health care - and women’s empowerment. And Taiwan is continuing to explore concrete cooperative projects with the United States in third countries, pursuing reforms of its International Cooperation and Development Fund to increase the fund’s budget and focus it more on investments that align with U.S. foreign aid priorities.

Taiwan could also play an invaluable role in international organizations and multilateral platforms such as the World Health Organization and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Yet Taiwan is excluded from these groups despite having expertise and experience it could share. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the island managed to keep infection rates extremely low, showing the effectiveness of Taiwan’s medical and public health systems. Taiwan contained the virus by rapidly implementing border controls, comprehensively tracking epidemic data, effectively distributing medical resources, and mobilizing businesses and civil society groups to provide supplies; it actively shared the keys to its success with global partners. It also donated over 51 million surgical masks, ventilators, and other medical supplies to more than 80 countries and regions worldwide. 

If it were able to participate in the WHO, Taiwan would not only be a beneficiary; it would also contribute its broad expertise in disease surveillance, epidemic prevention, and digital health technologies, thereby strengthening global health security. Taiwan also meets the CPTPP’s high standards for market liberalization, transparent governance, labor laws, environmental regulations and practices, and intellectual property protection. Its accession to the organization would expand regional trade and bolster the security of global supply chains.

 

Tangible Assets

Cooperation with the United States remains central to Taiwan’s diplomatic vision. The United States already plays a crucial role in ensuring Taiwan’s safety by continuing to fulfill its security commitments. The United States’ decision to sell $11 billion in arms to Taiwan in December is an important sign of deepening relations, and the expansion of U.S.-Taiwanese ties in areas such as security, technology, and energy is creating mutual added value.

Joint endeavors with the United States are a prime example of Taiwan’s efforts to bring value to other countries. Taipei and Washington are expanding their technology partnerships. Last May, I led a delegation to Texas for the Texas-Taiwan AI and Innovation Summit, where I witnessed the signing of an agreement between the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association, the Texas Association of Business, and Opportunity Austin (a development initiative by the Austin Chamber of Commerce) to increase bilateral investment. Taiwan also plans to work with the Houston city government to build the “Taiwan Tower,” a multipurpose development designed to support the Taiwanese private sector’s investments in Texas and reciprocal U.S. investments in Taiwan.

Taiwan has also sought to deepen bilateral energy cooperation with the United States. In March, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy visited Taiwan to witness the signing of a letter of intent on liquefied natural gas procurement and investment between Taiwan’s state energy firm, CPC Corporation, and the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation. This partnership both supports the U.S. economy and helps Taiwan diversify its energy sources by making the United States one of Taiwan’s top energy suppliers.

To further enhance trade and economic cooperation, Taiwan has proposed the creation of a U.S.-Taiwanese investment team - a collaborative initiative to support and coordinate Taiwanese enterprises investing in the United States - and the formation of a U.S.-Taiwanese joint fleet to deepen bilateral economic ties and enhance supply chain integration. Taiwan intends to join forces with the United States in AI development, contributing the most advanced AI chip manufacturing and server assembly technology. And in the recent trade deal struck between Taiwan and the United States, Taiwan committed to investing $250 billion in the U.S. semiconductor and tech industries, along with $250 billion in credit guarantees to support Taiwanese companies’ U.S.-bound investments. These will provide essential support to the U.S. semiconductor industry and make U.S. supply chains more resilient.

Taiwan has world-class manufacturing capabilities and supply-chain integration expertise, while the United States possesses an irreplaceable innovation ecosystem and critical core technologies. Taiwan and the United States can integrate their tech-focused capital and talent more effectively. Such a collaboration will not only help Taiwanese companies expand into the U.S. market and form effective industrial clusters but also demonstrate the competitive advantages of vertically integrated AI supply chains. Toward this end, Taiwan has sought to deepen its cooperation with the United States through the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, an annual encounter between top officials. During the sixth such meeting last month, Taipei and Washington affirmed their commitment to the Pax Silica Declaration - a joint pact to ensure that allied nations keep AI supply chains stable and secure - and created a road map for joint economic security, underscoring the two capitals’ symbiotic partnership.

Taiwan also hopes the U.S. Senate will approve legislation passed last year in the House that prevents double taxation to further facilitate cross-border investment. The steady development of U.S.-Taiwanese relations demonstrates that the idea of value-added diplomacy is more than just a slogan. It is a concrete practice that yields substantive benefits for partner countries - and for the international community.

Value-added diplomacy has become Taiwan’s new foreign affairs cornerstone. When the world asks, “Why is Taiwan so important?” we have a clear answer: by working with Taiwan, allies and like-minded democratic countries will not only find common ground. They will also stand to gain things they cannot access elsewhere: added security, more prosperity, and vital knowledge about democratic resilience. Whether Taiwan’s allies and partners are more focused on values or interests, Taiwan can help.

 

 

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