Taiwan is willing to partner with members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and can play an important role in addressing key issues that the group hopes to tackle, Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said on Thursday.
The Quad was to hold its first in-person summit yesterday.
The issues — climate change, COVID-19, the restructuring of supply chains and regional security — are Taiwanese interests, Hsiao told India’s Tv9 Telugu, which identified her as “Taiwan ambassador” to the US.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan seeks to establish partnerships with Quad member states, and other like-minded nations in the region, to address these issues, she added.
Taiwan and India have many common interests on which they could collaborate, such as technology and manufacturing, she said.
They could also work together on vaccine manufacturing, as India has demonstrated its resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic with its robust vaccine production, she said.
Asked about Taiwan’s “secret” to resisting China, Hsiao said that Taiwan just wants to survive and that its democracy had been hard-won with many sacrifices.
Taiwan has created a strong economy backed by legal institutions, and has also performed well in technology and other sectors, she said.
Taiwanese love freedom, and want to survive and defend that freedom, she said, adding that it is not looking for a fight, but wants to freely interact with other nations.
US-Taiwan relations are “rock solid”, and both nations share similar values and interests, such as democracy and liberty, as well as the safety and economic prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region, Hsiao said.
Bilateral ties have improved greatly over the past few years, as the nations collaborate on economic and security issues and support democracy, she said.
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