TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former US national security officials will assess Taiwan’s defense preparedness alongside National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) at the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience International Forum in Taipei on Saturday.
The closing “Are We Ready?” session will also explore ways to strengthen cooperation with Taiwan’s partners, per CNA. The forum precedes next week’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Joining Wu will be two former White House officials: Matt Pottinger, who served under Trump, and Anne Neuberger, who served under Biden.
Nearly 500 people are expected at the event, now in its second year. The gathering will bring together the public and private sectors, with participants drawn from government, academia, national security, companies, and trade groups.
Eight panel discussions will address psychological defense, maritime gray-zone threats, cybersecurity, infrastructure protection, and civil-military integration, among other subjects. Taiwan will also share its experience of handling information manipulation and natural disasters, per Formosa Television.
Technology’s role in strengthening democracies’ defenses will feature in the opening address by Palmer Luckey, founder of US defense technology company Anduril Industries. At midday, international representatives will review progress on Taiwan’s resilience work since the last forum.
Other participants include Palau National Security Coordinator Jennifer Anson, former Philippine National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Japanese Senator Takinami Hirofumi, and former Lithuanian Vice Minister of National Defense Tomas Godliauskas.
