Australia has voiced support for Taiwan despite the Solomon Islands’ plan to undermine Taiwan’s status as an observer at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
The forum is one of the most important international organizations in the Pacific region, made up of 18 member states, including Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan’s Pacific allies, associate members and observers, along with “dialogue partners” such as the US, Japan, Canada and the EU.
The 53rd edition of the forum opened in Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, yesterday.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Taiwan has been taking part in the forum and related events as a “developmental partner” under the name Taiwan / Republic of China since 1993. The status was first established in a communique published in 1992 and later recognized in communiques published in 1999 and 2000.
However, the Australian yesterday reported that the Solomon Islands at the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Aug. 9 in Suva, Fiji, said that it would table a motion this week to challenge Taiwan’s participation at the forum.
It cited a source familiar with the foreign affairs of Pacific island nations as saying on condition of anonymity that the Solomon Islands, acting under explicit instructions from Beijing, is aiming to prevent Taiwan from attending the forum to be held in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, next year.
China is lobbying all the member states to support the motion, but it could be deemed to threaten the solidarity of Pacific island nations and might not be approved, the source was quoted as saying.
In response to queries about the challenge facing Taiwan as a forum observer, a spokesperson at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that the Australian government values continued cooperation with all development partners in the Pacific region, including Taiwan.
Taiwan is a crucial development partner for Pacific nations, especially for Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and Palau, the spokesperson said.
Australia supports current arrangements facilitating exchanges between member states and Taiwan at annual forums, which have been established and implemented since 1992, they said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) has led a delegation to attend the 29th “Dialogue between Taiwan / Republic of China and PIF Nations” in Tonga — which is to be held as part of the annual forum — with the goal of buttressing the cooperative partnership between Taiwan, its Pacific allies and other like-minded nations, as well as broadening Taiwan’s participation in the international community.
The ministry also “deplored that some countries attempt to break the solidarity among Pacific nations for selfish reasons” and expressed appreciation to Pacific allies and other like-minded nations for supporting Taiwan’s continued participation in the forum.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan
RACE FOR CHIPS: The Dresden site would help Europe reduce its reliance on Asia for semiconductors, while Germany aims to produce one-fifth of the world’s chips by 2030 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday broke ground in Dresden, Germany, on its first European plant as the continent seeks to safeguard its chip supplies amid growing US-China tensions. TSMC chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) attended the event, together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the heads of Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV and Robert Bosch GmbH, which each hold a 10 percent stake in the venture. TSMC owns a 70 percent stake in the plant. “Together with our partners, Bosch, Infineon and NXP, we are building our Dresden facility to meet the
WORK TOGETHER: The US cannot assume it does not need friends, Haley said, calling isolationism unhealthy and echoing Pence’s calls to stand with Taiwan Taiwan and the US should jointly call on the UN to hold a hearing on UN Resolution 2758 and curbing China’s aggression, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said yesterday in Taipei. The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758 on Oct. 25, 1971, which states that the People’s Republic of China is the legitimate government of China, which led to it replacing the Republic of China in the UN. However, the resolution “never mentioned ‘Taiwan,’” and the UN should not “allow the Chinese Communist Party to hijack a resolution and claim it’s about Taiwan,” Haley told a news conference. Taiwan should
‘CLOSE TIES’: Former Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda also attended the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security and spoke of Taiwan’s importance globally China’s authoritarian expansionism would not stop with Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, calling for solidarity among the world’s democracies to check Beijing’s territorial ambitions. Taiwan is determined to become a decisive force for democracy, peace and prosperity, standing side-by-side with its democratic partners to confront authoritarian expansionism and protect shared values, he told the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security in Taipei. Authoritarianism is now a global challenge, Lai said, using as examples Chinese military expansionism, economic coercion and the use of hybrid warfare tactics such as cyberattacks and cognitive warfare. “We are all fully aware that China’s growing authoritarianism will
MAJOR JAM: The two tests are being conducted at sea because the system is powerful enough to disrupt civilian devices, a source familiar with the matter said Taiwan is next month to test a jamming device that might cause large-scale electromagnetic interference in the sea off Yilan County and along its coastline, a government notice to limit navigation in the test area said. Two radio jamming tests encompassing the coastal region between Toucheng (頭城) and Suao (蘇澳) townships and the nearby sea would be conducted from Sept. 2 to 6 and from Sept. 9 to 13, a Ministry of Transportation and Communications notice said. A source with knowledge of the matter said the tests are trials for a new mobile electronic warfare system developed for the armed forces