The Pacific Partnership Act, unanimously passed by the US House of Representatives on Monday, aims to bolster cooperation with Taiwan and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), its backers said.
Introduced by US Representative Ed Case early this year, the bill emphasizes the importance of US collaboration with key allies and partners, including Taiwan, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, as well as regional organizations such as the PIF.
Unlike other bills introduced recently, such as the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, the Pacific Partnership Act does not explicitly target China.
Photo: AFP
Instead, it requires the US president and the US secretary of state to develop a Pacific partnership strategy, focusing on the region’s vulnerabilities to threats such as natural disasters, foreign military actions, economic coercion and corruption.
The PIF, which is mentioned multiple times in the Pacific act, has become a diplomatic flashpoint between Taiwan and China. The south Pacific has long been a contested area of influence for both nations, with the PIF as a critical platform.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) last month attended the forum, as did Chinese Special Envoy for Pacific Island Countries Affairs Qian Bo (錢波).
The Solomon Islands sought to block Taiwan’s participation in future forums, reports said.
A draft communique reaffirming Taiwan’s status was reportedly removed due to pressure from China.
During discussions on the Pacific Partnership Act, US Representative Amata Coleman Radewagen said that China’s influence was growing in the region, pointing to its 2022 security agreement with the Solomon Islands.
The bill calls for coordinated US efforts with allies to ensure effective aid programs in the Pacific without duplication, Radewagen said.
Although the bill has cleared the House, it faces a narrow window for approval by the US Senate, given US presidential elections in November and a congressional recess.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS