Written by Tom Wilson. As Taiwan prepares for the 2026 urban resilience exercises, this article examines a key challenge in the current approach: a mismatch between how resilience is formally defined and measured, and how it operates in practice in Taiwan crisis settings, where informal, trust-based community networks often play a central role.
Written by Brian Hioe. US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP alarmed earlier this month after comments suggesting that he would decide whether to suspend arms sales to Taiwan after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April.
Written by Domingo I-Kwei Yang and Chan-Hsi Wang. This article argues that a new trend is emerging in Taiwan’s debate over defence spending, elevating the economic logic behind defence investment. It identifies the shift from fiscal burden to strategic investment, from buyer to co-production partner with the US and “peace through strength” as an economic strategy that fuses military readiness with an economic agenda.
This article examines whether Taiwan’s record NT$1.25 trillion defence package in 2025 strengthens deterrence or unintentionally accelerates strategic and demographic risk. The piece argues that both major parties rely on the same unspoken assumption that the United States will intervene decisively. It proposes a viable third path that balances readiness with societal resilience.
Written by Chieh-Ting Yeh. This article reviews an eventful year of 2025 in Taiwan-US relations. Defence and trade continue to be the most important issues of the bilateral relationship under the Trump administration. It argues that the narrative surrounding it is fundamentally reactive and does not inspire hope or action. We need a more robust, imaginative, positive, optimistic, uplifting, inspiring, forward-looking, and hopeful narrative for US-Taiwan relations.
Written by Gerrit van der Wees. This article suggests that Taiwan-US relations in 2025 were turbulent. The year was marked by contradictory presidential statements, unprecedented congressional activism, and the codification of Taiwan’s strategic importance in U.S. defence and security planning. The latest PLA military exercise indicates that 2026 will be even more turbulent.
