A senior Australian lawmaker yesterday broached the sensitive subject of security cooperation with Taiwan during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), saying both sides have a vested interest in maintaining regional stability.
Australian Representative Shayne Neumann, chair of the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, and Australian Representative Andrew Wallace, deputy chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, are leading a cross-party delegation on a visit to Taiwan which began yesterday and ends on Friday.
Wallace said in an ever-changing geopolitical landscape, security cooperation was “paramount.”
Photo: CNA
“Taiwan and Australia both recognize the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Our partnership, our strategic partnership, contributes significantly to regional security,” he said.
A rules-based, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region is in line with the interests of both sides, he added.
Wallace also underlined the importance of defense cooperation among nations, including conducting joint military exercises and sharing intelligence.
Taiwan and Australia are collaborating on cybersecurity initiatives safeguarding critical infrastructure and important digital networks, Wallace said, without giving details.
“Australia values its deep and productive unofficial relationship with Taiwan, which includes exchanges on trade and investment, people-to-people ties and regional security,” a spokeswoman for Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters.
Neumann said that Australia and its allies are working together to ensure regional stability, and to ensure that Taiwan can maintain the cross-strait “status quo,” which is “comprehensively superior to the alternative.”
Neumann and Wallace expressed condolences for the casualties caused by the earthquake that rocked Taiwan on Wednesday last week.
Tsai’s meeting with the visiting delegation at this distressing and busy time demonstrates the importance of the relations between Taiwan and Australia, Wallace said, adding that Australians would stand together with Taiwanese.
Tsai said that cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and Australia, which are both dedicated to safeguarding democracy and freedom, have become increasingly closer thanks to the cross-party efforts of the Australian parliament.
Delegations of Australian lawmakers have visited the nation for three consecutive years, demonstrating the close relations between the two sides, she said.
Taiwan and Australia have been working together to respond to global challenges, an example being the International Workshop on Combating Transnational Fraud held last month under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, which also includes the US, the UK and Japan, she said.
Australia has been expanding its international cooperation and has openly reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait in multilateral and bilateral arenas, she added.
Tsai called on democracies around the world to stand together against authoritarian expansion and expressed the hope that Australian lawmakers could continue speaking out for Taiwan.
The delegation is also to attend banquets held by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), and visit several governmental agencies during the trip, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The economic and trade interaction between Taipei and Canberra is highly complementary, the ministry said, adding that the two also cooperate closely in fields such as energy, education and culture, scientific research, indigenous issues and transportation security.
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