A delegation of government officials from the Solomon Islands who visited China were there to study the timber industry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that Taiwan’s relations with its Pacific ally are strong and stable.
Several media outlets have reported that a delegation led by the Solomon Islands’ minister for forestry and research, and minister for mines, energy and rural electrification visited China last week.
The visit came at a time when the Solomon Islands is considering whether to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan or switch recognition to China.
Ministry deputy spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) downplayed the visit, saying that it was aimed at conducting a survey of the timber market in China, the Pacific country’s main export destination.
Timber is also the Solomon Islands’ main export product.
The Solomon Islands government made the trip public, she said.
Radio New Zealand on Monday reported that the Solomon Islands has launched a 100-day assessment of its priorities, adding that a bipartisan task force would conduct a review of its ties with Taiwan.
It cited Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare as saying that he was confident that the task force would provide an in-depth analysis to help develop an approach for the government to enhance its diplomatic engagements and leverage opportunities for the country.
On June 5, Sogavare told Australian Broadcasting Corp that “we are under a lot of pressure to rethink this relationship.”
“We have this relationship [with Taiwan] premised on some important fundamental principles with the United Nations, and it would be sad to see us moving away,” he said.
Ou has said that most of the lawmakers on the Solomon Islands’ 50-seat parliament support maintaining diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard