Taipei Times
Date: Nov 01, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA, ANNAPOLIS, Maryland

Taiwan should change its military thinking and figure out how to make sure it has the ability to safeguard continued peace and stability both across the Taiwan Strait and within the Indo-Pacific region, a US official said on Tuesday.

David Helvey, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, made the remarks at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Annapolis, Maryland.

According to a transcript of the speech provided by the Ministry of National Defense, Helvey said that in strengthening its armed forces, Taiwan is developing sufficient conventional capabilities to meet the peacetime needs of a military in a rough neighborhood.

However, he warned that Taiwan could not “afford to overlook preparing for the one fight it cannot afford to lose.”    [FULL  STORY]