Signing an economic pact with Singapore will help Taiwan more effectively explore the Southeast Asian and South Asian markets, which Singapore is on good terms with, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) said yesterday.
Yang made the remarks after Taiwan and Singapore announced earlier in the day that the two countries had agreed to explore the feasibility of inking a trade pact based on the groundwork laid by the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that was signed with China in late June.
Two-way Taiwan-Singapore trade totaled US$13.4 billion last year, with the figure for the first half of this year reaching US$9.3 billion.
Yang said Taiwan is seeking to forge such an accord with Singapore because of the city state’s role in ASEAN and not simply because it is an important trade partner.
“A Taiwan-Singapore economic cooperation agreement should also help Taiwan step up its relations with the 10 ASEAN member states, as well as India,” Yang said.
NOT AN FTA
Asked why the planned deal with Singapore would be an economic cooperation agreement and not a free-trade agreement (FTA), Yang said not all bilateral agreements signed under the framework of the WTO were FTAs.
“Singapore signed 20 similar agreements with other countries, 15 of which were FTAs, while five were not. All 10 trade pacts Japan has signed with other countries and many others New Zealand and Australia have signed with other countries are also not FTAs,” he said.
When asked if China would be an impediment to the process of signing an economic agreement with Singapore, Yang simply said Taiwan has the right to ink an agreement.
According to Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠), the Singapore pact would be “key” for Taiwan to develop further economic relationships with ASEAN, which behind China is the most important center of economic development in the region.
Being able to start to negotiate the planned trade agreement with Singapore has added significance, he said.
“Singapore plays a dominant role in the development of ASEAN. Previous experience shows that many countries, for example the US and Japan, signed bilateral agreements with Singapore before concluding similar deals with the ASEAN nations,” the deputy minister said.
Lin said the proposed economic pact with Singapore would be a bilateral deal under the WTO framework.
“In accordance with WTO rules, the agreement doesn’t have to be between countries, it can be between economies,” Lin said.
Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如) said Singapore is the most active Asian country in seeking FTAs with its major trading partners.
“The city-state has long intended to sign such a pact with Taiwan, but such efforts were dampened by the special situation in the Taiwan Strait in the past,” Liu said.
CROSS-STRAIT ISSUES
In early 2000, both Taiwan and Singapore expressed their wish to forge such an agreement, but the proposal was then delayed “for some reason” and no progress had been made since, Liu said.
“After China signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with Taiwan, Singapore is now willing to follow suit,” the government’s top economic planner said.
Taiwan has also consulted on various occasions with the US, the EU, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and other countries over their interest in negotiating similar agreements, Lin said without elaborating.
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