The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday unveiled three countermeasures should Beijing further step up its poaching of the nation’s diplomatic allies as it fights a protracted trade war with Washington.
Speaking at a weekly news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei, Department of North American Affairs Remus Chen (陳立國) said that the US-China trade war has become more complicated and confrontational, with neither side showing a willingness to engage in further negotiations.
The government has set three measures to mitigate the impact of a potential economic and political fallout from the trade war, Chen said.
First, Taiwan is to engage in “value-based” diplomacy with its diplomatic allies, as well as the US, Japan and other like-minded nations, as an escalating trade war could drive China to adopt an increasingly heavy-handed approach to wooing the nation’s diplomatic allies and limit its international space, he said.
The government would redouble its efforts to deepen ties with its allies while striving to enlist the support of like-minded nations to boost Taiwan’s international participation, he said.
Second, the government would continue its efforts to gain membership in the Japan-led Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and take advantage of existing trade frameworks, including the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement it has with the US and the SelectUSA Investment Summit, he said.
These measures are aimed at lessening the negative impact of the trade war, which Taiwanese businesses — as an integral part of the global supply chain — cannot avoid, he said.
Third, the nation would continue to work with the US in its Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) Strategy, in which Washington has repeatedly acknowledged that Taiwan has a critical role, he said.
The FOIP and the government’s New Southbound Policy share similarities, are mutually advantageous for Taiwan and the US, and complement each other well, he said.
The government would continue to demonstrate that it is willing and able to participate in the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy, to cement the Taiwan-US partnership and explore possibilities of cooperation in the Pacific region with like-minded nations, he said.
Quoting Premier William Lai (賴清德), Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said that there have been signs suggesting the possibility of a protracted trade war.
The Cabinet would follow instructions given by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in her Double Ten National Day speech to pursue a path of “stability, adaptiveness and advancements” in its efforts to bolster the economy and ensure national security, Kolas quoted the premier as saying.
The government encourages local businesses operating in China to move their investment and operations back home or to nations targeted by the New Southbound Policy to avoid being affected by the trade war, and would continue to address the “five shortages” of water, electricity, land, talent and labor, the premier said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
RSS