While applauding the cross-strait rapprochement of recent years under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration, a former US official yesterday reminded Taiwan that its best strategic interests lie in deeper economic relationships with other countries in Asia.
“You have done a remarkable job in China, but the degree of diversification is in your best strategic interests,” Kurt Campbell, who served as US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2009 to February this year, told at a luncheon in Taipei.
Whoever is in power or in the opposition, it is important for them to recognize that it is in the interests of Taiwan to have a deeper economic relationship with other countries in Asia, he said.
Photo: CNA
Campbell was answering a question from Joanne Chang (裘兆琳), a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, who asked what Taiwan needs to do to establish its readiness to meet the standards of the emerging US-led Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) framework.
The TPP offers enormous possibilities for a number of countries in the region, but “there has to be political ambition, and that has to extend beyond one political polity” for a country to join the TPP, he said.
“Every country I go to, whether is Indonesia, or Thailand, or the Philippines, they all say the same thing: I would like to join the TPP. Can you give us a special dispensation, so that we can get in like a junior membership or something? It’s not gonna be possible,” he said.
As an example, Campbell said the steps taken by Vietnam to liberalize its economy in just a year and a half were recognition of its desire to play on a global stage.
He recalled his experience in negotiating over trade barriers hampering the resumption of the US-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
“One of the hardest I have to deal with in the last couple of years is TIFA. It’s really hard, really, really hard,” Campbell said.
In response to a question about the role of China in US arms sales to Taiwan, Campbell said the US and Taiwan need to engage in “more unofficial dialogues and integration.”
“I can’t disagree with you that the nature of both the challenges we face were remarkable investments that China has made over periods of time and some limitations in Taiwan’s defense budget made these issues critical,” he said.
It was the first visit to Taiwan since Campbell, an architect of US President Barack Obama’s pivot or rebalancing toward the Asia policy, left the office. He is now chairman and chief executive of The Asia Group, LLC, and on the board of the Center for a New American Security.
At the luncheon at a forum on US-Taiwan-Japan Trilateral Security Dialogue, a track 1.5 channel among the three countries, Campbell delivered a speech on security dynamics in Northeast Asia and the implications for Taiwan.
Over the last couple of years, the US-China relationship has been relatively stable, the cross-strait relationship is probably at an all-time high and the unofficial relationship between Washington and Taipei is one of the strongest in decades, Campbell said.
“The three-way relationship has a degree of stability. That is unique over the course of 30 years. Taiwan deserves remarkable credits for managing these complex and myriad relationships going forward,” he added.
This story has been updated with addtional information since it was first published.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS