A plan to open an economic or cultural representative office in Tallinn is still under discussion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, after Estonian Public Broadcasting’s English-language news site reported on Friday that the Estonian government had agreed to open the office using the name “Taipei.”
Estonian Minister of Public Affairs Margus Tsahkna told ERR News that the country was prepared to open an office to boost ties with Taiwan, but would still follow Tallin’s “one China” policy and would not develop political ties with Taipei.
“Just like many other European Union countries, Estonia is ready to accept the establishment of a nondiplomatic economic or cultural representation of Taipei in order to promote such relations,” Tsahkna said.
Photo: Reuters
However, Estonia does not recognize Taiwan as a country, he said.
“We will not develop political relations with Taiwan within the framework of the ‘one China’ policy,” he said. “At the same time, we consider it important to boost relations with Taiwan in the fields of the economy, education, culture, relations between civil society organizations and other such areas.”
The minister said that his country supports Taiwan’s participation in international affairs, such as global efforts to combat pandemics and Taipei’s participation in the WHO.
“Reinvigorating relations with Taiwan does not contradict the ‘one China’ policy,” Tsahkna said.
Tsahkna said that Estonia wants its China policy to be in step with that of the EU and that it wants to develop cooperation with like-minded partners.
“The more united we are on China, the better for all democratic countries,” he said.
In Taipei, MOFA said in a statement that talks related to Taiwan opening a representative office in Estonia were still under way and that a consensus had not yet been reached.
It expressed gratitude to the Estonian government for its willingness to talk about potentially opening a representative office and said that the ministry was open to discussing the matter further.
Taiwan and Estonia are aware that the establishment of a representative office would help boost bilateral exchanges, the statement said, adding that Taiwan and Estonia are like-minded partners and have shared democratic values.
In May, Estonia, for the first time, called for Taiwan to be included in the WHO during the third day of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, MOFA said, adding that the two are developing a solid relationship.
In her address during the 76th WHA, the WHO’s annual decision-making forum, Estonian Minister of Health Riina Sikkut said her country believed the organization should “facilitate inclusion and meaningful participation of all partners, including Taiwan, and this would benefit global health.”
MOFA said the ministry would continue to bolster ties and push for exchanges with Estonia and other like-minded countries.
The ERR News report also said that Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) is to visit Estonia next week to attend a seminar at the International Centre for Defense and Security in Tallinn.
MOFA said it would release more information on Wu’s visit at an “appropriate time.”
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’