The Italian Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday passed a motion urging the Italian government to be more involved in the Indo-Pacific region and to place importance on the situation across the Taiwan Strait.
The motion — introduced by Paolo Formentini, the chamber’s Permanent Commission of Foreign Affairs deputy chairman — passed the lower house largely unopposed, garnering 387 votes in support, 19 votes against and 11 abstentions.
Citing the possibility that China could launch a war against Taiwan amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the motion called on Rome to work with partners in the EU and NATO to elaborate an Indo-Pacific strategy and make plans to handle a potential crisis in the Taiwan Strait.
Photo: REUTERS
The motion was one of the most important bills about Taiwan deliberated before the Italian parliament and received backing from the ruling coalition’s five parties, including the Five Star Movement, which has favored policies friendly to Beijing.
After the vote, Formentini told Radio Radicale that the near-unanimous support for the motion showed that the Italian government must re-examine the country’s position and strategy regarding the Indo-Pacific region.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the Italian lower house, saying in a statement that the two countries have a strong partnership based on a shared belief in universal values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights.
Taiwan and Italy have a common interest in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific, it said, adding that Taipei would continue to work with Rome and other like-minded countries to protect world peace.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
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
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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