Taiwan's former president Tsai Ing-wen used a Silicon Valley dinner to push for deeper defense cooperation with Washington, framing a strong Taiwanese military as the key to keeping the region stable.

• Tsai said Taiwan must spend more, work harder, and win more partners on defense.
• She called Taiwan a defense and security partner of the US, aiming for a safer and more prosperous Indo-Pacific.
• The dinner in Palo Alto drew Taiwan's top representative in Washington and former military chief Lee Hsi-ming ahead of a technology and national security conference.
• Tsai also paid tribute to Ukrainian guests in the room, linking Taiwan's position to Ukraine's fight.
• Stanford's organizers praised her record on defending Taiwan's sovereignty and called the island's democracy worth protecting, even as a politically sensitive issue.

Outlook: Expect Taiwan to keep pressing for more US defense cooperation and bigger military budgets, with Silicon Valley's defense-tech scene increasingly part of that conversation.