Taiwan’s exclusion from international security groups has created “blind spots” for terrorists and criminals to exploit, a report from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says.
The report blames China for preventing Taiwan from joining or even participating in organizations that might increase the nation’s “international space.”
The report, Taiwan’s Marginalized Role in International Security, is by CSIS senior adviser for Asia Bonnie Glaser and research associate Jacqueline Vitello.
Screengrab from Twitter
It recommends that Taiwan be granted access to resources including Interpol’s criminal list, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Incident and Trafficking Database and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) secure database, adding that the nation should be allowed to enter the Financial Action Task Force and to join disaster relief organizations.
“To ensure that Taiwan remains up to date on international safety standards, procedures, and best practices, the island should be allowed enhanced participation in organizations such as the International Maritime Organization, ICAO and the International Physical Protection Advisory Service,” it says.
In addition, it says Taiwan should be able to participate in international military exercises led by the US, including the Rim of the Pacific and Cyber Storm.
The US could appeal to other nations to back Taiwan’s membership in international organizations where possible and its enhanced participation in other cases, the report says, adding that Washington could raise the security risks of marginalizing Taiwan from international security collaboration with senior Chinese officials.
“Despite possessing both the means and the desire to serve as a responsible stakeholder, Taiwan can neither benefit from most international security bodies nor share its considerable reservoir of knowledge and expertise for the common good,” the report says.
The document examines eight areas that it says would benefit from Taiwan’s inclusion, including counterterrorism, law enforcement, human security and cybersecurity.
“Beijing views Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and thus seeks to prevent Taiwan from joining or even participating in organizations that require statehood — and many that do not,” the report says.
It says that China fears that Taiwan could leverage its presence in international organizations to achieve independence.
However, marginalizing Taiwan from the international community comes at a cost for the rest of the world, the report says.
“By not including Taiwan in the international regimes and organizations that seek to deter and combat global threats such as terrorism and the spread of nuclear weapons, the world is left with gaps in the comprehensive fight for enhanced security,” it says.
“Ways must be found for the people of Taiwan to be better protected and to contribute their well-developed knowledge, skills and resources to international security endeavors,” the report says.
It concludes that Beijing’s obstruction of Taiwan’s participation harms Chinese interests.
“China faces growing threats to its security — threats that require more effective global cooperation,” it says. “Terrorism is an inherently international threat, and the exclusion of competent and willing parties like Taiwan creates dangerous gaps in the fight against it.”
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative