Ambassador Abby Lee of Taiwan, the current Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv, sat down in the ILTV podcast studio with Executive Editor Maayan Hoffman for a wide-ranging and timely conversation about Taiwan’s geopolitical challenges. As China increases pressure on the island democracy through cyberattacks, maritime incursions, and economic coercion, Taiwan is finding common cause with allies like the United States—and quietly, with Israel. Lee drew striking parallels between Taiwan’s struggle to maintain sovereignty and Israel’s ongoing battle with Iran. From hybrid warfare to tech-sector resilience, the conversation shed light on Taiwan’s fight for freedom. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. ILTV: What is an Indo-Pacific nation? What are some examples, and why does America consider itself one? Lee: Indo-Pacific in geographic terms means the islands encompassing or surrounding the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. However, nowadays it has become a concept for strategic and economic discussions, especially in the context of geopolitics and the balance of power. For these things, from the landmass perspective, and also from the strategic perspective, the United States is the Indo-Pacific nation with Indo-Pacific interests. ILTV: Why is the Indo-Pacific at risk of not being free and open? Lee: I would like to dive into this question from the economic perspective. First, nowadays, about 60% of global GDP is generated in the Indo-Pacific region. If we take the Taiwan Strait, for instance—and Taiwan in particular—Taiwan produces 90% of global chips, 95% of high-end chips, and also almost 100% of AI chips. So you can see that the Indo-Pacific region is a critical area for the future of modern technology and for human prosperity. Taking the Taiwan Strait again: almost 50% of global maritime goods need to pass through. This accounts for about $1.2 trillion that needs to go through these international waters. So how to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and the freedom of navigation of the Taiwan Strait, is of critical interest to all the stakeholders in this region. Watch Previous ILTV News Podcasts: Israel Won’t Wait: Kuperwasser Warns Iran Against Nuclear Comeback Is Israel the New Superpower in the Middle East? Can Israelis Survive a Second Trauma? ILTV: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was recently at the 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. He said there that America’s goal is to restore the warrior ethos, rebuild the U.S. military, and reestablish deterrence. How does that relate to Taiwan? Lee: We see that President Donald Trump is elected to apply ‘America first’ on the global setting, on the global stage—this is not only a domestic concept. We have seen the U.S. shift its strategic priority from the European theater to the Indo-Pacific, and we have seen that the U.S. has been engaged with rapid reform in the military perspective, to revitalize its military base and continue to engage with, empower, and enable its partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific. There have been joint trainings and an increase in maritime contacts in this region to make sure that peace, stability, and prosperity can be ensured. I think that the U.S. government has been sending out a reassuring sign, especially with the European countries, that they are shouldering more responsibilities in the European theater. But at the same time, our friends in Europe also know it is in their interest to ensure the safety and security in the Indo-Pacific region. So they also come out to support this type of freedom of navigation led by the United States. And in recent years, our relationship with the EU and European countries has also improved greatly. We also engage with some form of security dialogue with each other. ILTV: The U.S. has said it will take back the Panama Canal from malign Chinese influence. Can you explain what that looks like in practice? Lee: If we look at the global map, you can see that the Panama Canal, Suez Canal, Red Sea, and Taiwan Strait are all important and critical strategic points for global maritime trade and also for military deployment. For the U.S. government, their priority is to rebuild global deterrence. This deterrence will be rebuilt first at home and also in its backyard. That’s why the Panama Canal case gets a lot of attention. Also, I think it is a very strong signal to America’s friends and allies across the globe that if you depend too much on the Chinese economy, you will be more vulnerable to malign interference or influence. This will also make it more difficult in making future defense decisions. ILTV: Why is the Panama Canal considered ‘key terrain’? Lee: I think both. About 70% of goods are transported to the United States through the canal. The Panama Canal is also in the backyard of the United States, so it has strategic and economic implications for the United States to make sure it is free and open and would not be disrupted by any particular actors. ILTV: Hegseth warned that China is preparing to invade Taiwan by 2027. From Taiwan’s perspective, how real—and how imminent—is that threat? Lee: We have been learning about different timetables from the experts and also from the Chinese leadership. For us, we can tell that there is an urgency. We feel the threat is real. The threat is also a hybrid threat. If we talk about kinetic warfare, that battle is not happening. But if we talk about the battle or the confrontation in cyberspace, for instance—the cyberattack disinformation campaign—is actually happening every day. Unfortunately, since 1996 when Taiwan had our first presidential election. Taiwan was under martial law for 38 years. During the martial law, we didn’t have any political freedom, and that was the first time for Taiwanese people to choose our leader with the powerful vote through a democratic process. The Chinese responded to that by firing missiles on Taiwan. We have been living under Chinese threat for decades, but certainly it is heightening. When Israel is fighting the aggression of Iran—when Israel is under the barrage of missiles from Iran—our area is not peaceful either. I will show you very concrete numbers: on June 20, the high peak of Iran’s barrage of missile attacks on the homeland of Israel, the Chinese military also sent over 50 jets and two aircraft carriers to intrude our airspace and raise our National Guard. Whenever there is a contingency in the Middle East, there is a contingency in other parts of the world. The same thing applies if there is a contingency in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in the Taiwan Strait—there are global contingencies. ILTV: The U.S. warns countries not to become economically dependent on China. But for Taiwan, economic ties with the mainland remain significant. How does Taiwan manage the dual challenge of economic interdependence and military threat? Lee: In the past, Taiwan did have a very close trade relationship with China. We used to have about 1 million Taiwanese business people living in China. But we see how China weaponizes economic tools. We know it is urgent to diversify our sources of trade partners and investment. For instance, Taiwan’s leading semiconductor company, TSMC, invested in China previously. However, right now, they have increased their investment in the United States, Germany, and Japan. In the United States, they already announced a $160 billion investment commitment. This does not only showcase the important relationship between Taiwan and the United States, but also highlights the importance of raising awareness of Chinese coercion. It is important for every country to diversify its trade partners and to seek the right path for diversification. In 2018, that was the peak of Taiwan’s trade relationship with China. At that time, about 80% of our foreign direct investment went to China. But last year, we decreased the amount greatly, down to 20%. ILTV: China uses grey-zone tactics, hybrid warfare, and cyberattacks as part of its pressure campaign. What kind of daily aggression is Taiwan facing that the international community might not fully understand? Lee: The Taiwanese people have been living under threat for decades. Chinese military intimidation is not news for us, unfortunately. But another brazen threat—hybrid threat—from China also causes a lot of tensions, not only for Taiwan but also for the international community. For instance, I mentioned cybersecurity. There are about 2.5 million cyberattacks daily—every day—from China on Taiwan. They will use denial-of-access tactics to disrupt government websites and try to impose a sense of urgency or emergency on our government and communications. We see Chinese vessels—even though they are commercial boats—using their anchors to cut our undersea cables, trying to disrupt our communication. The disinformation campaign is another threat: they take advantage of our free media environment to amplify their own narratives and promote propaganda, not only in Taiwan but also internationally. These are global challenges—not only for Taiwan, but also increasingly for the global community. ILTV: Israel and Taiwan both face existential threats from powerful neighbors that reject their sovereignty. Do you see parallels in how each country navigates deterrence, diplomacy, and resilience? And is there anything Taiwan can learn from Israel’s experience? Lee: We don’t have formal diplomatic ties with every country in our neighborhood. It’s not easy for us to have overt military cooperation with our neighboring countries, but we know that more and more countries have come to support Taiwan politically and in the international arena. Despite diplomatic isolation, we have been working with every country willing to step out—willing to work together with Taiwan to preserve the status quo and the rule of order. I also want to take this opportunity to highlight that … China never ruled Taiwan for a single day. So once again, we would like to call upon the international society to work together with Taiwan to defend the cherished way of life and to keep the supply chain flowing. We understand that we are at a critical moment, but there are many things we can do together—and it’s time to speed up our cooperation. Collaboration and cooperation are the keys to meeting these challenges. Talking about cooperation with Israel, there are many parallels we can draw. From our historical background, both countries have faced existential threats from day one. We are two countries in difficult environments—but the resilience of society, the modern defense technology, the determination and will of the people to defend their homeland and fight for survival—is an inspiration for Taiwan. We have much to learn from Israel. Of course, your defense technology—your amazing Iron Dome—is well known by every Taiwanese today. But we know that defense success is not only dependent on military means. It also involves society—societal resilience. That’s why Taiwan is working to fortify community resilience while also strengthening national capabilities in areas like cybersecurity and countering disinformation. These are areas where Taiwan and Israel can work together—and learn from one another. ILTV: The U.S. Secretary of Defense called Israel a “model ally.” Given Israel’s advanced defense technology and experience with asymmetric warfare, is there potential—even unofficial—for deeper cooperation between Israel and Taiwan? Lee: First of all, I would like to address the United States’ handling of the Middle East. The way it has acted this time sent out a very strong signal of its security commitment to its allies and friends. But for Taiwan, we know we have to defend ourselves for others to help us. And we also know that Taiwan alone is not enough. We call upon more friends to politically and morally support us. In terms of Taiwan-Israel relations, we’re looking forward to more cooperation in the legislative area, including whole-of-society resilience and preparedness for emergencies—whether military or natural disasters. Also, we want to fortify cybersecurity and communication resilience. There are many viable, pragmatic ways to work together. Again, whenever there is a contingency in Taiwan, there is a contingency for the rest of the world. We always feel that no country is too small to deserve freedom, and no country is too small to choose the right side of history. Taiwan will continue to support our allies and friends and serve as a force for good—reliable partners in global geopolitics.