Italy has taken a significant step in contributing to assure Taiwan’s legitimate right to participate in the UN system. The Italian Chamber of Deputies Foreign Affairs Committee on Sept. 19 unanimously approved a resolution aimed at “committing the Italian government to take steps to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in UN agencies and specialized mechanisms.”
That step has been welcomed by Foreign Affairs Committee Vice President Paolo Formentini, with a statement that signals the government’s willingness to exercise a key role in the international arena regarding Taiwan’s quest for readmission to the UN. In an interview published in Italian newspaper Le Formiche, Lega lawmaker Formentini said that “Taiwan is one of the most developed democracies in East and South Asia, and has a crucial role in the Indo-Pacific.”
By pointing out Taiwan’s results in dealing with “health security, sustainability and climate change, digitization and the AI [artificial intelligence] sector,” he underscored the various areas of common interest between the parties. Emphasizing how Taiwan can help Italy get new skills is a topic of the utmost importance within our times.
Taking into consideration the unanimity of the resolution, we can argue that Italian politics as a whole seems keen on approaching Taiwan’s quest for participation in the UN from a coherent point of view, as it is totally in line with Italy’s nonacceptance of the “one China principle” — Italy’s “one China” policy only “takes note of” the Chinese Communist Party’s claim that Taiwan is an “inalienable part of China.”
As for the ties between Italy and Taiwan, on Oct. 16 last year the second Taipei Representative Office in Italy was inaugurated in Milan. At the inauguration, the office’s first head, former deputy representative to Italy Riccardo Lin (林讚南), said: “The aim is to make Taiwan better known in Italy and mutually promote a greater awareness of Italy in Taiwan.”
Bringing the two nations closer, not only when it comes to the economy, is the main aim behind the decision to establish the second office in Italy.
The office offers consular and emergency services to Taiwanese living in eight regions of northern Italy — Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige — as well as providing important work in facilitating commercial and economic relations between Taiwan and northern Italy.
Deepening economic ties with Taiwan is one of the key reasons behind this dual representation in Italy. In terms of diplomacy, what is needed is a significant step toward a deeper Italian involvement in challenging and refuting China’s misinterpretation and misuse of UN Resolution 2758. Advocating for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN is a first step.
In addition to this, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate should take into account the formulation of a resolution that recognizes how UN Resolution 2758 does not mention the future international status of Taiwan, not giving room to China’s claim of sovereignty over the territory. Emphasizing this reality should be in the interests of all of Italy’s Western allies. Australia and the Netherlands have paved the way by recognizing this historical truth. Italy should follow suit.
It is on the diplomatic level that the dominant narrative about the real nature of Taiwan is played out, not only in terms of a state’s foreign policy, but also in terms of the opinions of the world. Challenging China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758 must be a common strategy of nations willing to oppose the vision of Taiwan as a province of China.
It is no coincidence that the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself has undertaken an effort aimed at persuading more and more allies to embrace this foreign policy strategy, making it a linchpin of their policies regarding the Taiwan Strait. This would challenge China on its own ground, namely the use of the rule of international law to spread a certain view of a specific issue. In the case of Taiwan, to spread the correct and legitimate understanding of the resolution’s true meaning.
In comparison with an increasingly assertive China at home and in the international arena, Italy must focus its foreign policy around two pillars — rejecting China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 and participating in patrols conducted by Western nations to ensure freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait.
Michele Maresca is an analyst at the online international law journal Il Caffe Geopolitico.
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