Officials from Taiwan and the US held a sixth round of talks under the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue (EPPD) in Washington yesterday and signed a pact agreeing to the principles of "Pax Silica."
The meeting was led on the US side by US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg, while Taiwan was represented by Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), the US Department of State said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
The talks covered topics that included supply chain security, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence, as well as cooperation on uncrewed aircraft system component certification, support for trusted digital infrastructure and cooperation on critical minerals, the statement said.
Discussions also focused on "highlighting progress in responding to economic coercion, pursuing mutual cooperation in third countries and addressing tax-related barriers to increase investment between the United States and Taiwan," the department said.
Taiwan and US representatives also signed a joint statement endorsing the principles of the Pax Silica Declaration, the statement said.
"Pax Silica" is a US-led initiative focused on coordinating trusted supply chains for advanced technologies, whose initial eight signatories (now 11) did not include Taiwan, the world's leading producer of advanced semiconductors.
Upon its launch last month, Helberg said Taiwan had been involved and made contributions to the initiative, and that planners expected to roll out "several new members" in the first quarter of this year.
"Give us a little bit of room to let sensitive conversations unfold on a bilateral basis," Helberg told a Taiwan-based reporter at the time, who asked if there was a pathway for Taiwan to be brought in as a full participant.
Asked yesterday for an update on Taiwan's potential membership, Helberg said the signing of a joint statement was a "major milestone," but did not provide a timeframe for entry.
The EPPD framework was launched in November 2020 near the end of US President Donald Trump's first term, and continued during the administration of former US president Joe Biden.
Yesterday marked the sixth set of meetings under the EPPD framework, and the first since Trump returned to office in January last year.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS