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MOFA official says South Pacific is a crucial arena

As China attempts to build satellite monitoring stations in the South Pacific, Taiwan must make an all-out effort to boost relations with the region, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday.

Taiwan would be placed in an unfavorable position if China managed to establish a naval base in the area, Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Donald Lee (李傳通) said.

Lee, who just returned from the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga, said that China had set up satellite monitoring stations in Pakistan, Kenya, Namibia and Kiribati, although it had to dismantle the one in Kiribati after that nation established diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2003.

Lee said the South Pacific has strategic importance for Taiwan because six countries in the area recognize Taipei, a quarter of the nation's diplomatic allies. There were a lot of programs that Taiwan could offer these allies, he said.
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