Cai Mingyan took over as the head of the National Security Bureau, and Australia's experts on China have an advantage in analysis.

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[Instant News/Comprehensive Report] President Tsai Ing-wen recently appointed Cai Mingyan, who was the former vice minister of foreign affairs, as the new director of the National Security Bureau, setting a record for the first time that the diplomatic system has taken over the National Security Bureau.

Experts on China issues in Australia analyzed that although such a decision surprised the outside world, it also reflected Taiwan’s shift in intelligence collection and sharing in response to escalating and changing security threats, and it began to move towards an intelligence-sharing country. .

Corey Lee Bell, a researcher at the Australia-China Relations Institute (UTS ACRI) at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia, said in an article that Cai Mingyan appears to be an outsider in intelligence operations, but in fact he is more qualified to be the director of national security than his predecessor Chen Mingtong.

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Cai Mingyan's Qualifications to Take Over as Director of National Security

First of all, Cai Mingyan is a Ph.D. from the Institute of War Research, King's College London, UK. He also served as an advisory member of the National Defense Report of the Ministry of National Defense.

The most important point is that Cai Mingyan served as the deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council for three years. What you need to know is that Taiwan's National Security Council can directly provide advice to the president on national security issues.

Moreover, Cai Mingyan, like Chen Mingtong, is a senior expert on China issues. He has served as an advisory member of the DPP's China Affairs Committee, an advisor to the Strait Exchange Foundation, and an advisory member to the Mainland Affairs Council.

However, Bell believes that what Tsai Ing-wen really values ​​about Cai Mingyan may be his diplomatic success. After all, Cai Mingyan served as the representative to the EU and Belgium from 2020 to 2022. Taiwan's favorable bill, Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie also successfully met with members of the European Parliament in Brussels, and Lithuania agreed to set up a representative office under the name "Taiwan", etc.

Cai Mingyan's European advantage

Bell pointed out that when the spokesperson of the presidential palace explained that Cai Mingyan took over as the director of national security, in addition to issues related to national security, he also mentioned that Cai Mingyan also had to deal with diplomatic issues. Some people may find this strange, but this It undoubtedly reflects the Taiwanese government's attempts to reform.

Bell said that in an exclusive interview with the "BBC" in 2022, Cai Mingyan proposed the concept of "Integrated Deterrence", that is, being in the same spirit as other democracies, and this undoubtedly goes beyond the traditional national security category. When it comes to the fields of economy, technology and diplomacy, a talent like Cai Mingyan with extensive experience and insight into geopolitics is greatly needed.

In addition, Bell revealed that the Taiwan government should have discovered the special value of Cai Mingyan’s European connections after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has also deepened Taiwan’s stakes with Europe, including those threatened by Russia’s aggression. In the former Soviet Union countries, China has attempted to exploit the fragility of these countries and undermine the unity and cohesion of Europe in order to expand the influence of the CCP.

However, the 2022 report of the Center for European Policy Analysis shows that countries such as Lithuania and the Czech Republic are already identifying the threat posed by China, allowing China to weaken its influence locally and strengthen ties with Taiwan.

Taiwan's Intelligence Sharing Advantage

Bell believes that under Tsai's reforms, Taiwan's intelligence field and range of partners will grow larger and larger, which is a new diplomatic-led approach.

For nations that share Taiwan's concerns about the Chinese threat, the potential benefits of Taiwan's intelligence innovations cannot be underestimated.

The benefit of sharing intelligence with Taiwan is not only to assess or prevent threats to peace in the Taiwan Strait, but also to understand the means of China's offensive cyber attacks, after all, Taiwan has always been one of the targets.

Through Taiwan's sharing, other countries can learn lessons, and Taiwan can also become a leader in dealing with China's cyber threats and information warfare.

Of course, in addition to cyber warfare, China’s usual methods against Taiwan, such as political interference, media involvement, wooing or infiltrating civilians, gangsters, drones, etc., have considerable reference value for other countries to learn how to deal with unconventional threats .