Upcoming: US-Taiwan Defense Conference

The dates are Sept. 28-30 for the next US-Taiwan defense conference. Here's a glimpse at what's on tap in terms of speakers and sessions:

Confirmed U.S. speakers include Paul Wolfowitz, former U.S. deputy secretary of defense, now chairman, U.S.-Taiwan Business Council; Randy Schriver, Armitage International; Mark Hall, director, Information Assurance Policy & Strategy, U.S. Department of Defense; Capt. John Figuerres, chief, Northeast Asia Policy Division, Strategic Planning & Policy Directorate, U.S. Pacific Command; and John Anderson, chief, Technical Section, American Institute in Taiwan (the de facto U.S. Embassy).

Nongovernmental Taiwan speakers will include Fu S. Mei, director, Taiwan Security Analysis Center; Alexander Huang, professor of strategic studies and director of American studies at Tamkang University; Lin Chen-wei, director, Department of International Affairs, of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party; and Michael Tsai, former minister of national defense, now honorary deputy chairman, Institute for Taiwan Defense and Strategic Studies.

Session topics this year include long-range planning for Taiwan's future military needs, military modernization and the drive toward an all-professional force, and indigenous production and industrial cooperation.

Breakout session topics include the implications of the weaponization of space and China's space program, as well as Taiwan's current and future space programs; network and information security challenges and cyber-war preparedness from both a U.S. and a Taiwan perspective; and the implications the U.S. presidential election could have for Taiwan.