Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with the joint delegation of Latin American and Caribbean intelligence and security chiefs on the 26th. He stated that Taiwan will continue to enhance its self-defense capabilities, build a resilient national defense across society, and hope to strengthen joint defense and intelligence sharing mechanisms with friendly nations in the future, promoting various exchanges to further enhance collaborative efforts.
President Tsai Ing-wen, in his speech, first sincerely welcomed the visiting delegation on behalf of the Taiwanese government and all the people of Taiwan. He mentioned that the visit of intelligence and security chiefs from friendly nations not only symbolizes the deep friendship between Taiwan and these nations but also represents a firm commitment to defending common values such as freedom and democracy.
Tsai stated, “The previous joint meetings between our country and Latin American and Caribbean intelligence chiefs have yielded fruitful results. This multilateral cooperation mechanism is conducive to establishing regularized information resource sharing and exchanges, assisting in combating common threats.”
He pointed out that the current international security environment is increasingly complex, with challenges such as foreign infiltration, digital manipulation, misinformation, and cyber attacks posing significant threats to democratic systems. These challenges from authoritarian regimes transcend borders, and only through strengthening cooperation within the democratic alliance can authoritarian expansion be deterred, and societal and democratic resilience be built.
President Tsai highlighted the continued military threats and various activities of infiltration, perception operations, and manipulation carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) worldwide in recent years, using hybrid warfare tactics to influence political decision-making in different countries and undermine democratic processes.
“Taiwan is at the forefront of the threat from the CCP, therefore, we must continue to enhance our self-defense capabilities, build a resilient national defense across society, and hope to strengthen joint defense and intelligence sharing mechanisms with friendly nations in the future, collectively raising awareness to prevent CCP infiltration. The National Security Bureau is also urged to further promote exchanges, assistance, and training mechanisms with friendly nations to further enhance collaborative efforts,” Tsai said.
Tsai also expressed gratitude to the long-standing support of friendly nations for Taiwan, advocating for Taiwan’s voice on various international platforms. Taiwan has the capability and willingness to make more contributions to the international community, expecting continued support from friendly nations for Taiwan’s international engagement, mutual support with Taiwan internationally, fostering mutual prosperity and development, maintaining regional peace and stability, and safeguarding global democracy and freedom.
He once again welcomed the visiting delegation and extended sincere greetings and blessings to the heads of friendly nations, continuing to deepen bilateral friendship.
During his speech, Paraguay’s Minister of National Intelligence, Alcala, expressed, “We are currently in an era of rapid global changes, where technological advancements impact nearly all aspects of daily life, social systems, and public policies, forcing countries to formulate flexible and forward-looking strategies. However, these measures are still inadequate to counter the increasingly complex and sophisticated technological attacks originating from geopolitical adversaries.”
Alcala pointed out that in this context, hacktivism is rapidly emerging, coinciding with the CCP’s significant investments in energy and economic policies in Latin America, not only showcasing its economic power but also acquiring critical information through covert means for negotiations and risk assessments of various projects, leading to tangible benefits for the CCP, especially in advancing its Belt and Road Initiative by attempting to control global supply chain organizations and directly affecting the stability and sovereignty of countries.
Furthermore, Alcala noted that various hacker organizations launch attacks targeting strategic areas such as telecommunications, government agencies, military, and non-governmental organizations. The CCP’s objectives are not only to steal sensitive data relating to various countries’ critical infrastructure but also to weaken democratic systems, digital sovereignty, and diplomatic relationships.
Alcala emphasized, “The more united allies are, the more opponents attempt to divide us, therefore, countries must make greater efforts to strengthen cooperation and exchanges among each other.” Latin American countries are increasingly facing CCP’s attempts to divide, in a challenging and threatening situation, Paraguay is not alone and always has steadfast allies offering support, with Taiwan playing a particularly crucial role. It is believed that Taiwan and Paraguay will further deepen their cooperation and continue to strengthen their partnership through long-term strategic planning.
Alcala mentioned that President Tsai’s steadfast support and commitment to diplomatic relations allow Taiwan to play a pivotal role in regional cooperation and defending common values, thanking Taiwan for its significant role in consolidating Latin America and the Caribbean as steadfast allies.