Swaziland’s foreign affairs minister reaffirmed the country’s ties with Taiwan, describing the relationship between the two countries as a marriage that will not end in a divorce, even if China were to approach the country.
During a talk with Taiwanese media on Tuesday, Swazi Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Lutfo Dlamini said that Swaziland and Taiwan “have [been] married for 42 years and we have a provision that there is no room for divorce.”
The diplomatic relationship between Taiwan and Swaziland has existed for 42 years, and Swazi officials eagerly wish to extend the political ties to economic areas by attracting Taiwanese investors and tourists to the country.
“Over the years, we have seen over US$90 million [of] investment coming from Taiwan ... we would want to send this message to Taiwan that Swaziland is ready to do business with our friends,” said Dlamini, who arranged the trip for Taiwanese reporters to visit his country.
Swaziland, one of Taiwan’s four diplomatic allies in Africa, has been supportive of Taiwan’s bid to join international organizations.
“We are proud of ourselves that we have always stood by Taiwan, even in the United Nations. This is why we take pride that today Taiwan is part of the World Health Organization, and this is our wish that one day Taiwan will be recognized by all the bodies because of the value and the role the people of Taiwan play in the development of the world,” Dlamini said.
Asked by reporters if China has tried to force the country to switch allegiance to Beijing, Dlamini said that “they [have] yet to approach” the country.
“But let me give this example: When you are young and beautiful, a lot of men want to marry you, and there is nothing wrong with that,” Dlamini said.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
BIG YEAR: The company said it would also release its A12 chip the same year to keep a ‘reliable stream of new silicon technologies’ flowing to its customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said its newest A13 chip is to enter volume production in 2029 as the chipmaker seeks to hold onto its tech leadership and demand for next-generation chips used in artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance-computing (HPC) and mobile applications. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, also unveiled its A12 chip at its annual technology symposium in Santa Clara, California. The A12 chip, which features TSMC’s super-power-rail technology to provide backside power delivery for AI and HPC applications, is also to enter volume production in 2029, a year after the scheduled release of the A14 chip. The technology moves
RSS