Taiwan Steps Up Defense Ties as Deputy FM Makes Secret Visit to Israel
Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister recently made an undisclosed visit to Israel as Taipei steps up engagement with Israel for assistance in building its military, according to multiple sources familiar with the trip. Three people told Reuters that Francois Wu traveled to Israel quietly, with two saying the visit took place this month, though none would discuss his meetings or agenda.
Wu’s unpublicized trip comes as Taiwan seeks partners to help counter China’s growing pressure and looks specifically to Israeli expertise in layered air-defense systems. Taiwan’s new T-Dome architecture, unveiled in October by President Lai Ching-te, draws partly on Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.
Taiwan has few formal diplomatic relationships due to Beijing’s insistence that countries recognize the People’s Republic of China rather than Taipei. Although Jerusalem maintains official ties only with Beijing, both Israel and Taiwan have cultivated quiet exchanges rooted in shared democratic values and rising strategic alignment following Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel and the war in Gaza.
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Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry declined to confirm Wu’s visit but said in a statement that “Taiwan and Israel share the values of freedom and democracy, and will continue to pragmatically promote mutually beneficial exchanges and cooperation” across technology, culture, and trade.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not comment.
Taipei increasingly compares its security challenges with Israel’s, pointing to parallels in facing hostile neighbors and relying on advanced defense technologies. Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung told reporters last month that “of course in terms of technology and defense there is mutual learning and some interactions” between the two countries.
Taiwanese officials have been hosting a growing number of Israeli delegations despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. In recent months, Wu met Yinon Aaroni, director general of Israel’s Welfare Ministry, and President Lai received a group of six Israeli lawmakers. Lai also told an AIPAC dinner in Taipei that Israel’s determination to protect its territory serves as a “valuable model” for Taiwan.
Both governments previously downplayed Taiwan’s inadvertent link to an Israeli strike on Hezbollah figures in Lebanon last year after the exploding pagers involved were traced to a Taiwanese brand.
