Wednesday, August, 28, 2024 from 11:00AM – 12:30PM (EDT)
In-person and Webcast
About this event:
Event Description:
The Global Taiwan Institute (GTI) is pleased to invite you to a panel discussion, “Assessing Taiwan’s Defense Production Capabilities and Strategy.”
To address the People Republic of China’s increased aggression in the Taiwan Strait, the Taiwanese government has been forced to improve its defense readiness by procuring more weapons and defense articles—primarily from the United States. However, with US foreign military sales (FMS) facing ever expanding backlogs, Taiwan has had to find ways to supplement its long list of delayed weapons deliveries. So far, Taiwan has managed to do this through both co-producing defense articles with the United States in Taiwan and expanding its own domestic defense industry. Unlike other countries, Taiwan can do this because it has the industrial capability and capacity to produce high end equipment. However, while these are positive steps, Taiwan continues to struggle with a coherent defense production strategy. Though the Tsai administration and current Lai administration have pledged to make the Taiwanese military more asymmetric, military spending still tends to go largely toward more traditional symmetric weaponry. This expert panel will examine what Taiwan’s defense production strategy may look like under the new Lai administration, developments in US-Taiwan coproduction, and successes and challenges in Taiwan’s defense industrial base.
The event will be live-streamed through YouTube beginning on Wednesday, August 28 at 11:00 AM EDT. Questions for the panel may either be sent by e-mail to contact@globaltaiwan.org, or through the chat function on YouTube. Please direct questions or concerns to GTI Program Manager Adrienne Wu at awu@globaltaiwan.org.
The Panelists:
Lt. Gen. Wallace ‘Chip’ Gregson (USMC, ret.) Lieutenant General Wallace ‘Chip’ Gregson (USMC, Ret.) served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. Previously, he served as chief operating officer for the United States Olympic Committee, then as an independent consultant before entering Government in 2009. From 2003 to 2005, he was Commanding General of the Marine Corps Forces Pacific and Marine Corps Forces Central Command, where he led and managed over 70,000 marines and sailors in the Middle East, Afghanistan, East Africa, Asia and the United States. From 2001 to 2003 he served as Commanding General of the III Marine Expeditionary Force in Japan, where he was awarded the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, the Gold and Silver Star; the Korean Order of National Security Merit, Gukseon Medal; and the Order of Resplendent Banner from the Republic of China. Prior to his time in Japan he was Director of Asia-Pacific Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 1998 to 2000. Lt. Gen. Gregson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; the US Naval Institute; and the Marine Corps Association. He is a trustee of the Marine Corps University Foundation. His civilian education includes a bachelor’s degree from the US Naval Academy, and master’s degrees in Strategic Planning from the Naval War College, and International Relations from Salve Regina College.
Rupert Hammond-Chambers is the president of the US-Taiwan Business Council. He began working for the US-Taiwan Business Council in 1994, was promoted to vice president of the Council in 1998 and was elected president of the Council in 2000. Hammond-Chambers is also the managing director, Taiwan for Bower Group Asia—a strategic consultancy focused on designing winning strategies for companies. He is also responsible for Bower Group Asia’s defense and security practice. He sits on the board of The Project 2049 Institute. He is a trustee of Friends of Fettes College, and is a member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations. Before joining the US-Taiwan Business Council, Hammond-Chambers worked as the associate for development at the Center for Security Policy, a defense and foreign policy think tank in Washington, DC. He also worked for Advanced Telecommunication Corporation (ATC), managing a variety of clients with business interests in the Caribbean and Latin America. Born and raised in Scotland before emigrating to the United States, Hammond-Chambers has a bachelor of arts from Denison University.
Colby Ferland is a senior fellow at the Project 2049 Institute. He previously served as director of programs at the Project 2049 Institute. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, he co-led the US-Taiwan Defense Industrial Cooperation and Supply Chain Security Program. Ferland holds a master’s degree in Asian Studies from Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service (MASIA). He specializes in US-Northeast Asia security issues and wrote his master’s thesis on US-Taiwan defense trade. Before returning to the United States for graduate school, Ferland traveled East Asia for two years, living 18 months in Taiwan, where he attended National Taiwan Normal University’s Mandarin Training Center. While there, he also taught English to Taiwanese youth. He earned his bachelor’s degree studying Chinese political economy at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and the London School of Economics. Colby is proficient in Chinese and Spanish.
The Moderator:
Jonathan Harman is GTI’s 2024 Ya-Hui Chiu Summer Fellow. Currently a senior at Brigham Young University studying political science and Asian studies, he previously studied at National Taiwan University and is a former intern at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense.