Australia has welcomed President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) diplomatic initiative to avoid competing with China for allies, openly lauding for the first time Ma’s attempts to end so-called “checkbook diplomacy” in the South Pacific.
“We are very encouraged by statements by Taiwan officials, including the president, that Taiwan intends to provide aid that is transparent and accountable and has humanitarian and practical focus,” Alice Cawte, representative of the Australian Commerce and Industry Office (ACIO) in Taiwan, said during an interview.
A senior career officer with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and assistant secretary at the department’s East Asia branch from 2005 until earlier this year, Cawte is familiar with the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
Cawte has also served in Beijing and studied Chinese in Taiwan.
“It will benefit the region as a whole because without the previous tug-of-war for recognition in the Pacific ... [Taiwan] will be able to focus more on government systems that support good governance in the region and are transparent and accountable,” Cawte said.
‘FLEXIBLE’
Since assuming the presidency on May 20, Ma has followed a modus vivendi, or “flexible” diplomatic strategy, which attempts to set aside Taipei’s differences with Beijing to find a mutually beneficial equilibrium on the diplomatic front.
He is also seeking a “diplomatic truce” to end a longstanding tug-of-war with China in which both countries try to lure each other’s allies to switch diplomatic allegiance by offering large sums of foreign aid.
In a visit to Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund on Sept. 18, Ma affirmed that the government’s approach to foreign aid is strictly based on three key principles: the purpose must be legitimate, the process must be legal and the assistance must be effective and efficient.
INFLUENTIAL
Being the biggest benefactor of countries in the South Pacific, Australia has significant influence in the area. It has long criticized Taiwan and China for conducting “checkbook diplomacy” in the South Pacific region, saying that such a hostile competition for influence fuels corruption and political divisions.
In a report to the legislature on Sept. 25, Foreign Minister Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) said that for the modus vivendi strategy, Australia and New Zealand had expressed their intention to work with Taiwan on foreign aid programs in the South Pacific region.
Cawte said, however, that there were no specific projects on which the two countries are working together, adding that Australia was committed to consulting with Taiwan and sharing its experiences.
“We are very happy to share these experiences with donors who share our values of providing dual assistance that leads to good governance and long-term sustainable development,” she said.
“We certainly can consult with Taiwan to ensure that we both understand what we are intended to achieve and through consultation to ensure that we are both doing the best we can for the foreign assistance in the region,” Cawte said.
SIGNS
Cawte said that the signs were encouraging regarding relations between Canberra and Taipei, as they each had new leaders come into office last December and May respectively.
She agreed that bilateral ties seemed to have entered a new stage as the battle between Taiwan and China for diplomatic recognition seemed to be abating.
“I think relations are very good and they are evolving,” Cawte said. “We are tracking well and we are very optimistic and positive about the future.”
She said that Australia was also “encouraged” by the Ma administration’s efforts to improve relations between Taiwan and China.
“We believe this will improve regional security and regional stability,” she said.
SPACE
Speaking about Taiwan’s international space, Cawte said Australia’s position is very clear, and that is to support Taiwan’s participation in regional and international organizations where that participation and consensus is possible.
“We certainly understand Taiwan’s desire to participate in international organizations and believe Taiwan has much to contribute,” Cawte said.
She said that while the precise formulation for Taiwan’s participation in the WHO had yet to be determined, “Taiwan should play the key role in determining the consensus.”
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires