A delegation of four Taiwanese military officers attended a multilateral security forum hosted jointly by the United States and Japan that wrapped up in Tokyo on Thursday, the first time since 2019 that Taiwan has had a presence at the forum.
The Taiwanese delegation, which includes Rear Admiral Chang Shih-hsing (張世行), who commands the Navy’s 151st Amphibious Fleet, and Colonel Wu Chih-hsiao (吳志孝), who serves as the Marine Corps’ deputy chief of staff, was invited to the four-day Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium (PALS) security forum hosted jointly by the United States and Japan this year from June 13-16 as an observer.
According to information from unnamed Taiwanese officials, the other two representatives are a Navy commander and a Marine major, though the names of both were not disclosed.
Nearly 70 military personnel from 18 countries, such as Australia, the Philippines, Britain, and France, took part in the event that included visits to military bases in Japan and demonstrations of weapon systems made by either Japan or the U.S.
The forum is intended to “contribute to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region by enabling key leader discussions about crisis response, interoperability, and maritime capability development,” the U.S. Marine Corps Forces said on Thursday via Twitter.
The PALS was first held by the U.S. in Hawaii in 2015, to which Taiwan sent a delegation headed by Major General Liu Yu-ping (劉豫屏), then-commander of the 99th Marine Brigade.
The country last took part in the symposium in 2019, with the Taiwanese delegation led by Major General Liu Erh-jung (劉爾榮), then-commander of the Joint Operations Training Base.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel