The Chinese Strategic Prospects Institute researcher and associate professor at Tamkang University’s Institute for Strategic Studies, Jin Zhong, stated that the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China (Taiwan) will send 32 people to the United States next year to participate in the “Defense Policy Special Conference” for over two weeks. He expects that there will be new breakthroughs in Taiwan-US military security dialogue next year.
Jin Zhong stated, “There will be new breakthroughs in the bilateral military security dialogue between our country and the United States!” According to the publicly disclosed budget for the year 115 (2026) by the Ministry of National Defense, in addition to the existing annual routine dialogues such as the “Monterey Talks,” “Defense Security Talks,” and “Political and Military Dialogue” between Taiwan and the United States, a new “Defense Policy Special Conference” will be added next year, serving as the “top platform for bilateral defense ministry military issues.” The Ministry of National Defense plans to send a representative delegation of up to 32 people to attend in the United States.
In addition to the addition of the “Defense Policy Special Conference,” Jin Zhong stated that the Ministry of National Defense will allocate up to NT$471.23 million (approximately $15.45 million USD) in the coming years, from next year until 117 (2028), to carry out a new round of the “Taiwan-US Defense Department Joint Cooperation Assessment Case” (JFD), with NT$152.50 million ($5.11 million USD) budgeted for next year.
Jin Zhong said that the lengthy duration and significant amount of the assessment case is very rare in bilateral “non-military procurement” exchange programs, indicating preparations made by the Taiwan and US defense ministries to promote further “action plan coordination.”
He explained, “Currently, among the three major official routine policy dialogue mechanisms between Taiwan and the United States, the ‘Monterey Talks’ have the highest level with senior officials from the National Security Council, Ministry of National Defense, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs attending, positioning it between national security and military strategic levels; the ‘Political Military Dialogue’ focuses mainly on diplomatic issues, but the Ministry of National Defense also sends senior officials to participate.”
Furthermore, he said, “The Defense Security Talks focus on high-level military issues, mainly involving senior officials of both defense ministries. Under these three major policy dialogues, there are also specific ‘project policy meetings’ conducted by the Ministry of National Defense, focusing on weapon procurement and arms sales, followed by meetings of the operational level of various military branches.”
Jin Zhong stated that next year, the addition of the “Defense Policy Special Conference” as the highest platform for “bilateral defense ministry military issues” will see the Ministry of National Defense sending up to 32 people for over two weeks, with a travel budget of NT$15.43 million.
“Although the Ministry of National Defense’s publicly disclosed budget does not reveal more details,” he said, “assuming that the Minister of National Defense is still unable to enter Washington, it is judged that the Deputy Minister of National Defense will lead members of the main and joint staff departments to hold in-depth and comprehensive discussions with relevant members of the US Department of Defense on Taiwan’s defense security and major bilateral military cooperation matters.”
Regarding the “Taiwan-US Defense Department Joint Cooperation Assessment Case” from the year 115 to 117, Jin Zhong stated that the Ministry of National Defense’s publicly disclosed budget did not disclose more information, only mentioning that in 113 (2024), the two sides held several physical seminars to discuss topics such as “homeland defense, blockade scenarios, drone warfare, and intelligence exchange,” with representatives from various military branches participating from our side.
Jin Zhong believes that “starting from the addition of the ‘Defense Policy Special Conference’ focused on military issues between Taiwan and the United States in 115, as the fourth annual high-level routine dialogue, along with the nearly NT$500 million three-year ‘Taiwan-US Defense Department Joint Cooperation Assessment Case,’ in addition to the Ministry of National Defense and its subordinate units allocating multiple new exchange programs to the US, it shows that as the military threat from the Chinese Communist Party to Taiwan continues to rise, the military exchanges between Taiwan and the US are deepening constantly. It seems to have shifted from increasing bilateral ‘military interoperability’ to gradually moving towards how to coordinate and evolve action plans when specific situations arise between the two parties.”