Event:
US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2012
September 30-October 2, 2012
Hershey, Pennsylvania
The US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2012 was held September 30 – October 2, 2012 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This was the eleventh 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 discussed innovative military tactics and capabilities, and examined how Taiwan can implement such innovation. We also addressed Taiwan defense policy in President Ma’s second term, held a discussion on challenges in the U.S./China/Taiwan trilateral political environment, and reviewed opportunities for collaboration between the U.S. and Taiwan in meeting the cyber threat.
The first conference in this series was the St. Petersburg, Florida event where former 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 conference was held in October 2010 in Cambridge, Maryland, and the tenth conference was held in September 2011 in Richmond, Virginia.
Keynote Addresses
Keynote speakers at the 2012 conference included senior representatives from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense. US-Taiwan Business Council Chairman Dr. Paul Wolfowitz was the conference host.
Keynote Speech by Andrew Yang, Taiwan’s Vice Minister of National Defense (Policy) (PDF)
Conference Program
Sessions at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference featured a moderator and several speakers on the panel, and some sessions included additional commentators. Each speaker gave a short presentation on the session topic from his or her own viewpoint and expertise. Those presentations were 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.