Taipei: President Lai Ching-te said Tuesday that a joint statement recently signed between Taiwan and the United States demonstrated the two sides' shared commitment to strengthening economic security. Lai was referring to the joint statement endorsing the principles of the Pax Silica Declaration, a U.S.-led initiative aimed at securing global semiconductor supply chains for advanced technologies.
According to Focus Taiwan, the joint statement issued by the U.S. Department of State outlined that Taipei and Washington agreed to "endorse the principles of the Pax Silica Declaration" and "work together to further deepen our economic cooperation, in close coordination with the Pax Silica signatories." The joint statement was signed on Jan. 27 during the sixth Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue (EPPD) in Virginia. It did not, however, comment on whether Taiwan would become a signatory to the declaration, which currently includes Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Lai noted that under the joint statement, the two sides affirmed a cooperation roadmap to bolster economic security. He emphasized that security, reliability, and resilience are playing increasingly critical roles in the AI and semiconductor sectors amid geopolitical uncertainties. To that end, Lai added, both sides are working to establish working groups to maintain close contact regarding issues of mutual interest.
Addressing the issue in late December, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said, "I anticipate Taiwan's participation in Pax Silica-related discussions to continue . if there is a mutual coming of the minds on the text of the declaration that lends itself well to them signing, that's a decision that will be made at a later point in time." As of press time, CNA had been unable to obtain further comment from Taiwan's government agencies regarding the matter.
Lai explained that the EPPD meeting covered a wide range of topics, including AI supply chains, digital infrastructure, critical minerals, drone supply chains, and cooperation with third countries. This, he said, signaled that Taiwan-U.S. cooperation had expanded significantly.