On 9 February, ICDS was pleased to host a delegation from the Taiwanese National Defence University (Republic of China), led by the University’s Vice President Lieutenant General Chieh Chang.
The meeting discussed a range of topics including the changing security environments in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. Although China is not seen as a primary threat in Estonia, shifts in the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region can impact Europe’s security and vice versa, especially as the US is the main security provider in both regions.
Furthermore, President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping share the goal of weakening the rules-based world to accommodate their power aspirations and territorial claims. Small states have the most to lose from this approach.
The two delegations also discussed means to enhance resilience and deterrence and to combat hybrid threats, Sino-Russian military cooperation, and Estonia’s experience of building an army comprising both conscripts and volunteers.
