Overview

• Johnson met President Lai Ching-te in Taipei and delivered a keynote address at the annual Ketagalan Forum on August 5.
• He urged Western governments not to “tiptoe away” from Taiwan under Beijing’s pressure and to deepen economic and political partnerships with the island.
• At the forum, he contrasted Taiwan’s recognized government, controlled boundaries and democratic system with Palestine’s more ambiguous statehood claim.
• Describing Taiwan’s semiconductor industry as a “miracle” born of a free society, he highlighted its critical role in global supply chains alongside a pledge to raise defense spending above 3 percent of GDP.
• Johnson condemned China’s tactic of sending vessels into Taiwanese waters and aircraft into its airspace and called on European allies to share responsibility with the United States for preserving Indo-Pacific security.