November 30: Implications of Global Conflicts for Taiwan Strait Security

Thursday, November 30, 2023 from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM (ET)

In-Person (RSVP here) and Webcast

Event Description:

The Global Taiwan Institute (GTI) is pleased to invite you to a public seminar entitled “Implications of Global Conflicts for Taiwan Strait Security.” In February of 2022, Russia launched a brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, touching off the largest European ground war since World War Two. In doing so, Moscow issued a profound challenge to the rules-based international order and raised alarms in democratic nations around the world. Fears of growing geopolitical instability were further exacerbated by Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, which has rapidly expanded in scope and intensity while threatening to develop into a far larger, regional conflict. For Taiwan and its supporters around the world, these developments have been deeply concerning. While both conflicts are far from the Taiwan Strait, they have nevertheless underscored the fragility of the international system and demonstrated that war remains a viable option for revisionist regimes. At the same time, this proliferation of global conflicts has placed considerable strain on the United States’ defense-industrial base, calling into question Washington’s ability to provide its partners—including Taiwan—with the armaments they need to defend themselves.

For Taiwan, the United States, and other like-minded nations, these new conflicts could provide both warnings and lessons. Do these wars presage a future contingency in the Taiwan Strait? How have these developments impacted China’s strategic thinking? What lessons can Taiwan and its partners draw from the conflicts? This panel will tackle these questions and many more.

Panelists will include: Bradley Bowman (Foundation for Defense of Democracies); Michael Mazza (American Enterprise Institute/GTI); Yuki Tatsumi (Stimson Center); and Alexander Velez-Green (Heritage Foundation). The event will be moderated by GTI Executive Director Russell Hsiao.

The event will be held at the GTI office located at 1836 Jefferson Place NW in Washington DC (approximately one block from the Dupont Circle Metro). Doors will open at 11:30 AM, and the event will begin at 12:00 PM. If you plan on attending in-person, please RSVP by November 28, as seating is limited. A light lunch will be provided. Please direct questions or concerns to Program Manager Marshall Reid at mreid@globaltaiwan.org.

**Media: Please contact Marshall Reid at mreid@globaltaiwan.org if you would like to bring additional crew members or equipment, so that we can be sure to accommodate you.

The Speakers:

Bradley Bowman serves as senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he focuses on US defense strategy and policy. He has served as a national security advisor to members of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, as well as an active duty US Army officer, Black Hawk pilot, and assistant professor at West Point. Bowman spent nearly nine years in the US Senate, including six years as the top defense advisor to Senator Kelly Ayotte, then-senior Republican on the Armed Services Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee. Bowman also served as national security advisor to Senator Todd Young and worked as a Council on Foreign Relations international affairs fellow on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Bradley served more than 15 years on active duty as a US Army officer, including time as a company commander, pilot, congressional affairs officer on the Army staff in the Pentagon, and staff officer in Afghanistan. As an assistant professor at the US Military Academy at West Point, Bowman taught courses on American politics, foreign policy, and grand strategy. He also taught a graduate course on “Congress and US National Security Policy” at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Bowman has testified to Congress and appeared on CNN and BBC. His analysis has been published by The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, NBC News, Newsweek, Breaking Defense, Defense News, and others. He earned an MA in international relations from Yale University and a BS in American politics from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Michael Mazza is a senior non-resident fellow at GTI. He is also a non-resident fellow in foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he analyzes US defense policy in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese military modernization, cross-Strait relations, Korean Peninsula security, and US strategy in Southeast Asia. Mazza has contributed to numerous AEI studies on Asian security issues. He was recognized as a 2010-2011 Foreign Policy Initiative Future Leader.

Yuki Tatsumi is a senior fellow and co-director of the East Asia Program and director of the Japan Program at the Stimson Center. Before joining Stimson, Tatsumi worked as a research associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and as the special assistant for political affairs at the Embassy of Japan in Washington. Tatsumi’s most recent publications include Balancing Between Nuclear Deterrence and Disarmament: Views from the Next Generation (ed.; Stimson Center, 2018) Lost in Translation? U.S. Defense Innovation and Northeast Asia (Stimson Center, 2017). In September 2006 Tatsumi testified before the House Committee on International Relations. She is a recipient of the 2009 Yasuhiro Nakasone Incentive Award. In 2012 she was awarded the Letter of Appreciation from the Ministry of National Policy of Japan for her contribution in advancing mutual understanding between the United States and Japan. A native of Tokyo, Tatsumi holds a BA in liberal arts from the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan and an MA in international economics and Asian studies from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington.

Alexander Velez-Green is a senior policy advisor in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense. His analysis focuses on defense, deterrence, and alliance management in the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. Velez-Green previously served as national security advisor to US Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO). In this capacity, he staffed Senator Hawley on the Armed Services Committee. He also advised on matters related to strengthening deterrence against China, including US conventional and nuclear force structure and posture, Taiwanese defense requirements, and the impact of US military activities in Europe and the Middle East on America’s ability to deter or fight effectively in a Taiwan contingency. Performance of these duties involved regular engagements with the National Security Council, Department of Defense, State Department, members of the Intelligence Community, and foreign governments. Prior to the Senate, Velez-Green served as a defense strategy and policy analyst at Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc., where his work focused on nuclear and conventional deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and Europe. Velez-Green also previously held roles at the Center for a New American Security, where his research focused on the impact of emerging technologies on U.S.-Russian strategic stability. Velez-Green has published articles in The Washington Post, War on the Rocks, The National Interest, National Review, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Russia Matters, and Lawfare, among others. Velez-Green graduated cum laude from Harvard College.

Moderator:

Russell Hsiao is the executive director of GTI, senior fellow at The Jamestown Foundation, and adjunct fellow at Pacific Forum. He is a former Penn Kemble fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy and visiting scholar at the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia. He previously served as a senior research fellow at The Project 2049 Institute and national security fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Prior to those positions he was the editor of China Brief at The Jamestown Foundation from October 2007 to July 2011 and a special associate in the International Cooperation Department at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. While in law school, he clerked within the Office of the Chairman at the Federal Communications Commission and the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center at the Office of the US Trade Representative. Hsiao received his JD and certificate from the Law and Technology Institute at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law where he served as the editor-in-chief of the Catholic University’s Journal of Law and Technology. He received a BA in international studies from the American University’s School of International Service and the University Honors Program.