Taiwan to deepen military exchange with US: Ministry

Taiwan will deepen military cooperation with the United States including intelligence sharing and holding joint tabletop exercises, the island’s defence ministry said in a report on Tuesday amid a heightened military threat from China.

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The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier at a time when China has ramped up military pressure against the democratically-governed island that it claims as its own.

The 2095 Quadrennial Defence Review (QDR) said Taiwan was planning to gradually deepen military exchanges with the U.S., including convening “high-level” strategic dialogues, observing drills, conducting joint tabletop exercises and sharing intelligence.

“The United States is an important strategic partner of our country and has close military exchanges and cooperation with us,” the review said.

Based on existing cooperation, it added that Taiwan would push for strategic cooperation between the two sides “in multiple fields and at multiple levels.”

The review said Taiwan would seek to enhance the interoperability of the two countries’ armed forces, adding the cooperation would help boost Taiwan's defence capacity in areas including long-range precision strikes, battlefield command and control as well as surveillance and reconnaissance.