U.S.-Taiwan Security Relations

CNAS hosted a public experts’ discussion on: 

U.S.-Taiwan Security Relations

Evaluating the Security Environment 35 Years after the Taiwan Relations Act

With Keynote Speaker:

The Honorable Andrew Hsia
Deputy Minister of National Defense
Ministry of National Defense (MND), Taiwan

With Panel Discussion Featuring:

The Honorable Patrick M. Cronin
Senior Advisor and Senior Director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security

Alan Romberg
Distinguished Fellow and Director of the East Asia Program, The Stimson Center

Abraham Denmark
Vice President for Political and Security Affairs, The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR)

Ms. Joanna Yu Taylor 
Director, China and the Pacific Program, Center for the National Interest

Download a .PDF of the event agenda.

About the Event

The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which provides the legal basis for U.S. relations with Taiwan, was enacted 35 years ago. Since then, the U.S.-Taiwan relationship has weathered changes in the security environment, but remains strong today. However, as the United States rebalances to the Asia-Pacific, the time is ripe to examine how the regional environment has evolved since 1979 – particularly with the economic and military rise of China – and how those changes affect the U.S.-Taiwan relationship.

Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of National Defense, Andrew Hsia, made a keynote speech, followed by a panel discussion with American experts. The Honorable Patrick M. Cronin, Senior Advisor and Senior Director of the CNAS Asia-Pacific Security Program, moderated the panel with remarks by Alan Romberg, Distinguished Fellow and Director of the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center and Abraham Denmark, Vice President for Political and Security Affairs at the National Bureau of Asian Research.