TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has reportedly taken on an advisory role in the newly formed Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR), according to a person familiar with the matter.

They said the US invited Taiwan to participate in the multilateral initiative to strengthen defense industry supply chain resilience and maintain security in the Indo-Pacific. During the inaugural meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, from Oct. 7-8, retired US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery said that Taiwan is a leader in the weapons production supply chain and suggested that joint weapon production between Taiwan and the US is on the horizon, per CNA.

Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante chaired the meeting, which was hosted by the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies and the US Indo-Pacific Command, according to the Pentagon. LaPlante was joined by senior military officials from PIPIR member nations in the Indo-Pacific and Europe, including Taiwan's Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞).

During the meeting, nations decided on a “Core Vision Statement,” which provides the core principles to guide cooperation on defense industrial resilience. Members also listed four workstreams: sustainment, production, supply chain resilience, and policy and optimization.

The Pentagon said the PIPIR “serves as a platform to accelerate defense industrial base cooperation by reducing barriers to production, creating new sustainment hubs, and addressing supply chain constraints.”

Taiwan’s inclusion in the partnership comes as President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has pledged to bolster national defense and protect citizens' well-being. Under the Four Pillars of Peace action plan, Lai established three committees to develop better responses to challenges and foster closer cooperation with the international community.