Taiwan will not be a “troublemaker” in the Asia-Pacific region under the next Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, a member of the DPP’s New Frontier Foundation think tank said on Monday in Washington.
York Chen (陳文政), convener of the foundation’s Defense Policy Advisory Committee, made the comment at a conference on Taiwan-US strategic relations in connection to relations after president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) assumes office on May 20.
Cooperation is to become more practical and is to center on mutually beneficial issues, Chen said at the conference, which was organized by the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank.
He said the role that Taiwan would assume in the region under Tsai’s administration would be in accordance with the US’ regional strategic plan and it would not become a “troublemaker.”
Chen said Taiwan and the US would prioritize defense industry cooperation, cooperate on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc and see smoother and more comprehensive communication during Tsai’s term, with a reduced chance of misinformation or “surprises.”
In response to a question on whether the incoming DPP administration would continue Ma’s cross-strait policy of “no unification, no independence and no use of force,” Chen said he did not think Tsai would use the same language as Ma.
“Maintaining the ‘status quo’” is the DPP’s slogan, Chen said.
Center for a New American Security chief executive Michele Flournoy, a former US undersecretary of defense, said after the conference that she believed the US will continue to cooperate with Taiwan on security issues.
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