Event: US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2015
October 4-6, 2015
Williamsburg, Virginia
The US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2015 will be held October 4-6, 2015 in Williamsburg, Virginia. This will be the fourteenth annual event in a series of ongoing conferences addressing the future of U.S. defense cooperation with Taiwan, the defense procurement process, and Taiwan’s defense and national security needs.
This year, conference sessions will consider Taiwan’s Legislative and Presidential elections in January of 2016 and their potential impact on the island’s defense posture. We will examine potential evolutionary changes and new approaches for Taiwan, how new intellectual concepts could inform future military strategy, and how such changes in strategy might play out in procurement, arms sales, indigenous development, and budgeting. Panelists will also discuss Taiwan’s air & missile defense objectives, focusing on potential strategic changes and reviewing potential future options. Finally, we will provide an update on last year’s session on Taiwan’s indigenous submarine programs, provide insight into the progress that has been made a year later, and discuss how best to ensure continued forward momentum.
The first conference in this series was the St. Petersburg, Florida event where former Taiwan Minister of National Defense Tang Yiau-ming gave the keynote address in March of 2002. The second conference in the series was held in February 2003 in San Antonio, Texas, the third in October 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona, the fourth in September 2005 in San Diego, California, the fifth in September 2006 in Denver, Colorado, and the sixth in September 2007 in Annapolis, Maryland. Taiwan’s Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min gave the keynote address at the seventh conference in the series, held in September 2008 on Amelia Island, Florida. The eighth conference was held in September 2009 in Charlottesville, Virginia, the ninth in October 2010 in Cambridge, Maryland, and the tenth in September 2011 in Richmond, Virginia. The eleventh conference was held in September 2012 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the twelfth in September 2013 in Annapolis, Maryland, and the thirteenth in October 2014 in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Keynote Addresses & Conference Program
Keynote speakers will include senior representatives from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense and from the U.S. government. US-Taiwan Business Council Chairman Dr. Paul Wolfowitz will be the conference host.
Sessions at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference feature a moderator and several speakers on the panel, and some sessions may include additional commentators. Each speaker gives a short presentation on the session topic from his or her own viewpoint and expertise. Those presentations are then followed by a moderator-led discussion among the panelists, as well as a moderator-driven question and answer period with the attendees. This format offers the maximum amount of time for exchanges among the panelists, as well as between the panel and the audience, allowing the sessions to become a forum for substantial and valuable interaction and discussion.
Registration is now open at the 2015 US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference website.