Maryland: A Taiwanese defense official has urged the United States to support Taiwan in integrating its defense and information systems under the newly proposed “T-Dome” initiative. The call for assistance was made by Chung Shu-ming, deputy minister of armaments in the Ministry of National Defense (MND), during the 24th U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference held in Maryland.

According to Focus Taiwan, Chung outlined that the “T-Dome” project aims to establish a comprehensive protection network for military and critical infrastructure, as first announced by President Lai Ching-te in his National Day address. This large-scale initiative envisions a layered defense system capable of intercepting Chinese missiles and rockets. The MND is currently evaluating how to integrate Taiwan’s existing air defense, communications, and information management systems to achieve this goal.

Chung emphasized Taiwan’s hope for U.S. assistance to enhance its defense coordination and noted American goodwill in addressing previous delays in arms deliveries to Taiwan. These delays are reportedly being resolved, with a dedicated American team now managing the process. Taiwan has provided a list of pending items for follow-up to expedite this resolution.

Taiwan is also increasing its defense spending, which now exceeds 3 percent of its GDP, to bolster its asymmetric warfare capabilities against Chinese threats. Enhancing cooperation between Taiwanese and U.S. defense industries is deemed crucial, with efforts to develop a “non-red supply chain” to lessen dependency on China for defense manufacturing.

Furthermore, Taiwan is expanding its domestic production capacity for unmanned and smart weapons, inviting American firms to participate in technology transfers and co-production projects. Chung highlighted the strategic importance of on-island production as an opportunity for industrial advancement.

Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Wang Ting-yu also addressed the conference, revealing plans for a new seven-year special defense budget of NT$1.3 trillion (US$39 billion) set to be presented by early November. The budget will focus on priorities such as the T-Dome initiative, asymmetric warfare capabilities, strategic reserves, and self-sufficiency in domestic arms production.

The annual bilateral defense industry conference, organized by the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, gathered about 200 participants, including officials, defense industry representatives, and think tank experts from both Taiwan and the U.S.