A former NATO deputy chief yesterday praised Taiwan for being a “responsible stakeholder” that is open to dialogue and working toward de-escalating tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.
Speaking during a luncheon address at the Yushan forum in Taipei, Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo, president of the NATO Defense College Foundation who served as NATO deputy secretary-general from 2001 to 2007, said that the EU and Taiwan have already developed good relations despite the lack of official diplomatic relations.
Both sides have held yearly commercial discussions and have regular dialogue regarding industrial policy and the digital economy, leading to Taiwan becoming the EU’s fourth-largest commercial partner in Asia.
Photo: CNA
The European Parliament has formally addressed the EU’s relations with Taiwan “in a positive spirit” by “recognizing it as a functioning democracy and a potential partner for further cooperation,” Minuto-Rizzo said.
There is a consensus in Euro-Atlantic institutions that Taiwan is a “vibrant civil society, a cutting-edge economy and adopts a proactive pragmatism as a general line of action,” he added.
“It also acts as a responsible stakeholder in the Indo-Pacific region, charting a course between extremes, open to dialogue and de-escalation of tensions, willing to work in an Asian multilevel concrete environment,” he said.
The ex-NATO deputy also hinted that Taiwan could have the opportunity to work “at UN level.”
“There is surely the possibility to cooperate toward the common good at the global level by avoiding dangerous escalations and working together at UN-level and more limited formats to tackle evident global challenges that outpace the capabilities of single nations or groups of countries. The EU and NATO will surely contribute also at this wider level,” he said.
Minuto-Rizzo was invited to speak at the two-day Yushan Forum held on Wednesday and yesterday, which first took place in 2017 as part of the government’s New Southbound Policy.
Launched by the Democratic Progressive Party government in 2017, the policy aims to increase exchanges between Taiwan and neighboring ASEAN member states, six countries in South Asia, plus Australia and New Zealand.
Separately on Wednesday, former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison voiced support for including Taiwan as a non-state member in international organizations and suggested that Taiwan could participate as an adjunct non-member in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), which includes Australia, India, Japan and the US.
During a speech in Taipei after his address at the Yushan Forum, Morrison, who now serves as a lawmaker, advocated the enlargement of the scope and nature of Australia’s unofficial relations with Taiwan — both bilaterally and multilaterally — “within a modernized ‘one China’ framework.”
Admission of Taiwan as a non-state member into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the WHO and other UN forums would be a great start and is long overdue, he said.
Other options include adjunct non-member engagement in economic, environmental, technological and humanitarian dialogues with multilateral fora, including the QUAD, he said.
Under such “one China” policy settings, Taiwan’s practical autonomy could be enhanced, while at the same time not crossing the threshold of national statehood, he added.
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