The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday dismissed concerns that its plan to formalize titles conferred on the nation’s diplomats stationed in countries who have no diplomatic relations with Taiwan could anger Beijing and cause unfavorable reactions.
Ministry spokesperson Steve Hsia (夏季昌) confirmed that the ministry has proposed that the nation’s representatives to non-diplomatically allied counties be titled ambassadors, deputy representatives be titled ministers and section chiefs be titled councilors.
Titles of other, lower-ranking diplomats in nations not allied to Taiwan would also be changed in accordance with the international system of diplomatic ranks, Hsia said.
The proposed plan has been referred to Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) for his approval, he said, after the Chinese-language United Evening Daily News revealed the plan.
Hsia said the changes made to the titles would only be applicable domestically.
If the proposed plan takes effect, diplomats in countries that are not diplomatic allies will retain their current titles — such as representative, deputy representative and section chief — when they represent the country abroad, Hsia said.
The evening paper said the changes could needlessly provoke China because the move had a high degree of political implications. It added that the move would hinder President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in advancing the nation’s international presence because it ran counter to his policy of flexible diplomacy.
Hsia dismissed that the plan would be a cause for concern.
The ministry proposed the plan as an administrative convenience to simplify the complexity in titles conferred to diplomats in diplomatic allies and non-diplomatic countries, he said.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu said the strengthening of military facilities would help to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post would move forward as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing. “The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.” Former Japanese minister of defense Gen Nakatani in January said that Tokyo wanted to base Type 03 Chu-SAM missiles on Yonaguni, but little progress
NO CHANGES: A Japanese spokesperson said that Tokyo remains consistent and open for dialogue, while Beijing has canceled diplomatic engagements A Japanese official blasted China’s claims that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has altered Japan’s position on a Taiwan crisis as “entirely baseless,” calling for more dialogue to stop ties between Asia’s top economies from spiraling. China vowed to take resolute self-defense against Japan if it “dared to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait” in a letter delivered Friday to the UN. “I’m aware of this letter,” said Maki Kobayashi, a senior Japanese government spokeswoman. “The claim our country has altered its position is entirely baseless,” she said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday. The Chinese Ministry
RSS