COVID-19 has affected every corner of the globe, clearly showing the importance of international cooperation in responding to the pandemic. As Indo-Pacific democracies, Australia and Taiwan share an interest in an open, inclusive, resilient and prosperous Indo-Pacific region and world that are able to bounce back from shocks like COVID-19.
In the face of the disease, Australia has achieved world-leading health outcomes, with fewer infections, hospitalizations and deaths than most other countries, and it has administered nearly 3 million vaccine doses.
Australia is also helping our Indo-Pacific partners meet the challenges of COVID-19: through official development assistance of nearly A$1.5 billion (US$1.16 billion) to the Pacific region, and more than A$1 billion to Southeast Asia; through a A$100 million contribution to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’s effort to deliver 1 billion vaccine doses to the region; and by sharing Australia’s domestically manufactured vaccines.
Australia and Taiwan have cooperated closely during the pandemic, providing each other with vital protective equipment. They have shared lessons on their respective approaches, including through the Global Cooperation and Training Framework. They also continue to deepen important links in biotechnology and pharmaceutical development, with more than 30 clinical trials being conducted by Taiwanese firms in Australia.
Taiwan is in the midst of a difficult time, facing its first significant threat from “community transmission.” Nonetheless, Taiwan continues to stand out across the world for its effective response to the pandemic. The efforts of the government and Taiwanese are to be applauded. Its economy is still booming, and Taiwan is helping the world, providing much needed personal protective equipment, and sharing its advice and expertise.
Taiwan’s success has been driven by its early, coordinated national response that included early screening of arriving passengers, strictly monitoring quarantine arrangements, early and widespread use of masks, and effective contact tracing — in short, its scientific and highly effective public health management approach. The world has much to learn from Taiwan.
The people of Australia and Taiwan continue to be among the world’s most fortunate in terms of public health and economic outcomes in the face of COVID-19.
However, everyone around the world has a stake in ensuring an effective global health system. As the leading authority within the international system, the WHO is the cornerstone of an effective rules-based international order for health. It plays a particularly important role in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australia wants to see a WHO that is robust, with an enhanced ability to respond to pandemics.
The WHO should maintain close working relationships with all health authorities. As COVID-19 has demonstrated so clearly, Taiwan has valuable expertise to share with the world. This is why Australia maintains our long-standing support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement in the WHO’s work, and its participation as an observer in the World Health Assembly.
The economic and health consequences of COVID-19 have been severe, and there is a long road to recovery ahead. We must remain vigilant and work closely together. Only through full and inclusive global cooperation can we expect to see a full and inclusive global recovery.
Jenny Bloomfield is the Australian Representative to Taiwan.
US aerospace company Boeing Co has in recent years been involved in numerous safety incidents, including crashes of its 737 Max airliners, which have caused widespread concern about the company’s safety record. It has recently come to light that titanium jet engine parts used by Boeing and its European competitor Airbus SE were sold with falsified documentation. The source of the titanium used in these parts has been traced back to an unknown Chinese company. It is clear that China is trying to sneak questionable titanium materials into the supply chain and use any ensuing problems as an opportunity to
It’s not every month that the US Department of State sends two deputy assistant secretary-level officials to Taiwan, together. Its rarer still that such senior State Department policy officers, once on the ground in Taipei, make a point of huddling with fellow diplomats from “like-minded” NATO, ANZUS and Japanese governments to coordinate their multilateral Taiwan policies. The State Department issued a press release on June 22 admitting that the two American “representatives” had “hosted consultations in Taipei” with their counterparts from the “Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” The consultations were blandly dubbed the “US-Taiwan Working Group on International Organizations.” The State
The Chinese Supreme People’s Court and other government agencies released new legal guidelines criminalizing “Taiwan independence diehard separatists.” While mostly symbolic — the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never had jurisdiction over Taiwan — Tamkang University Graduate Institute of China Studies associate professor Chang Wu-ueh (張五岳), an expert on cross-strait relations, said: “They aim to explain domestically how they are countering ‘Taiwan independence,’ they aim to declare internationally their claimed jurisdiction over Taiwan and they aim to deter Taiwanese.” Analysts do not know for sure why Beijing is propagating these guidelines now. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), deciphering the
Delegation-level visits between the two countries have become an integral part of transformed relations between India and the US. Therefore, the visit by a bipartisan group of seven US lawmakers, led by US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul to India from June 16 to Thursday last week would have largely gone unnoticed in India and abroad. However, the US delegation’s four-day visit to India assumed huge importance this time, because of the meeting between the US lawmakers and the Dalai Lama. This in turn brings us to the focal question: How and to what extent