The U.S. Department of Defense issued a press release on October 10, announcing that the newly established Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) held its inaugural meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii on October 7-8. Taiwan’s Vice Defense Minister Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) was seen in a group photo of attendees released by the Pentagon.

According to the press release, the meeting was chaired by Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Under Secretary William LaPlante and senior defense officials responsible for armaments from member nations in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic partnerships joined the discussions.

Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Jedidiah Royal attended the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference hosted by the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council in late September. During a closed-door speech, Royal noted that Taiwan would play an important role in the PIPIR initiative.

U.S.-Taiwan Business Council Vice President Lotta Danielsson expressed her enthusiasm over Taiwan’s involvement in the PIPIR, stating that Taiwan has long been a trusted partner of the United States in technology collaboration. She also highlighted the potential advantages for Taiwan and the U.S. to co-produce defense equipment.