The APEC economic leaders’ meeting, which this year was held in Da Nang, Vietnam, came to a close on Sunday. Vietnam has passed the baton to Papua New Guinea, which is to host next year’s meeting.
Vietnam created a precedent this year by setting up an informal dialogue between APEC and ASEAN leaders. This meant that, in addition to enabling the leaders of the US, China, Russia and other nations to meet with APEC leaders, non-APEC member states from the ASEAN bloc, such as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, were able to participate in the forum.
The innovation made for a more lively summit. Taiwan’s special envoy to the meeting, People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), was able to make good use of this platform and to interact with a variety of world leaders.
Established in 1989, APEC allows for interaction between officials on a number of different levels and, as Asia’s highest level body for the promotion of economic cooperation, is an important forum for exchange and interaction. This year’s summit was no exception.
By contrast, last year’s summit was overshadowed by the effects of the US presidential election and the global economic backdrop.
Since last year, the global situation has changed significantly. US President Donald Trump’s “America first” policy has brought about a 180-degree shift in US foreign and trade policies. Based on the principles of bilateral trade agreements and “fairness,” today’s White House is a far cry from past administrations’ pursuit of multilateralism.
While individual nations will naturally prioritize their own interests above those of others, when faced with the challenge of serious global economic volatility, one expects that nation states will still cooperate with each other for the mutual benefit of all.
It is for this reason that, despite the myriad disagreements and deadlock at this year’s APEC meeting, a spirit of compromise and a willingness to resolve disputes was firmly in the ascendant.
For example, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is now being spearheaded by Japan following the US’ withdrawal from the agreement, has a total of 11 members. Prior to the summit, TPP members released a statement saying that they hoped to achieve significant progress at the forum.
However, there were a series of setbacks during the course of the TPP talks in Da Nang. Vietnam’s chief negotiator walked out of a meeting, the Canadian prime minister failed to attend a discussion meeting, and negotiations between Japan and Canada broke down.
Despite these problems, all parties involved returned to the negotiating table in the end and agreed to include the concept of “tolerance” within the original agreement.
Under the new framework, a basic consensus was reached. Significant headway was achieved, despite individual differences.
During the APEC meeting, Australia and Peru signed a bilateral trade agreement, while Vietnam used the opportunity to invite the leaders of Chile, Canada, China and other nations to state visits.
APEC has become an important platform for the leaders of Asian nations to interact closely with each other.
As for Taiwan, due to obstruction by China, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was unable to attend the meeting and was forced to send Soong as an envoy of “Chinese Taipei.”
Despite these measures, bilateral talks with other nations still had to be conducted in an extremely low-key manner.
Although Soong was seemingly treated as an equal and with respect by other members of the economic bloc, he was still cut off and at a disadvantage, unable to interact directly with other leaders.
At the hands of Chinese suppression, even the most trifling of actions by Taiwan’s envoy — whether it was eye contact, a handshake or a simple greeting — was leapt upon by domestic media and commentators as a further example of the nations’s enfeebled status on the world stage.
This year’s ASEAN summit followed hot on the heels of the APEC meeting and was held from Sunday to Tuesday in the Philippine capital, Manila. As the pace of regional economic integration quickens and the world develops a new model of economic order, individual nations are proactively building ties and forming alliances with each other.
Not only must Taiwan be careful not to belittle itself on the world stage, but it must do all it can to gain traction and keep moving forward.
The harsh reality is that Taiwan is in a never-ending struggle for survival. The government cannot afford to take its foot off the gas.
Lu Yi-hsuan is a special reporter at the Liberty Times.
Translated by Edward Jones
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