US, Taiwanese Governments Cohost ‘Pacific Islands Dialogue’ to Discuss Closer Cooperation

(L-R) Jarden Kephas, Nauru’s ambassador to Taiwan; Limasene Teatu, Tuvalu's ambassador to Taiwan; Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu; AIT Director W. Brent Christensen; Sandra Oudkirk, State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island; and Neijon Rema Edwards, the Marshall Islands’ ambassador to Taiwan, take a group photo at the Pacific Islands Dialogue in Taipei, Taiwan, on Oct. 7, 2019. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

TAIPEI, Taiwan—The threats posed by the Chinese regime and the importance of Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific region were spotlighted during a regional forum hosted by U.S. officials and Taiwanese government officials on Oct. 7.

And for the first time, Taiwan’s foreign minister confirmed that the Chinese regime had plans to increase their military presence in two Pacific nations that recently cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, warning that those projects could threaten U.S. security interests in the region.