Given that Taiwan has lost 10 formal diplomatic allies since 2016, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday laid out a new plan to keep the country’s 12 remaining allies in the fold by further helping them develop and prosper.
The 12 UN member countries that still formally recognize the Republic of China are very important to Taiwan, but the days of using “checkbook diplomacy” with Beijing are over, Lin said in an interview with the Central News Agency.
Instead, he said, as China uses every possible means to snatch away more allies from Taiwan, “we are trying to use Taiwan’s successful model or experience to help our allies develop in a way that benefits their country.”
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP Photo
That is why Taiwan is now proposing a seven-point flagship project to help allied countries with their development using the nation’s technological advancements, he said.
The project’s seven key areas cover semiconductors and supply chain resilience, trustworthy digital governance, new energy and carbon credits, smart science park development, smart healthcare, new agricultural innovation and artificial intelligence.
Taiwan has plenty of experience and expertise in these areas and as our allies develop further, Taiwan’s diplomatic ties with them would also grow stronger, Lin said.
The nation is in talks with its 12 allies to tailor projects to their needs, he said.
For example, discussions with Belize are focused on helping it meet Taiwan’s technical requirements so that its shrimp can be exported to Taiwan, he added.
The ministry is also working to encourage more exports of Guatemalan coffee to Taiwan after China banned the import of coffee and macadamia nuts from the Central American country earlier this year without explanation.
Taiwan is not alone in its battle to keep its allies, Lin said, adding that he US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are also working closely with Taiwan in maintaining its formal allies, worried that if others were to defect to Beijing, it could be a breaking point in the Second Island Chain, Lin said.
The project could be diplomatically and economically beneficial to Taiwan as well, he said.
If the ministry helps more Taiwanese businesses set foot in allied countries, it would also boost Taiwan’s presence in these areas and enable companies to venture into markets around the world, he said.
Since former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first took office in May 2016, the ROC has lost 10 diplomatic allies to the People’s Republic of China amid deteriorating cross-strait relations. The most recent ally to switch sides was Nauru on Jan. 15, just two days after Taiwan’s presidential election.
Taiwan is also working hard to strengthen relations with like-minded countries around the world, including the US, Japan and the Philippines, Lin said.
Lin said that he believes Taiwan’s cordial relations with its most important ally, the US, would not be affected by whoever wins the US presidential election next month and that relations with Japan should also remain close.
Although Japan recently got a new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, Lin said the two countries would continue to engage in close exchanges on all fronts despite the lack of official diplomatic ties and would remain closely interconnected on security due to their geographic proximity.
They are also continuing their cooperation on humanitarian aid and information sharing, he said.
He also hoped that Taiwan and Japan can further enhance economic and trade relations by signing an economic partnership agreement in the near future to take bilateral integration to an even higher level.
The Philippines is another country in the region that would play a critical role in any potential conflict between Taiwan and China, Lin added.
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