Taiwan has "prepared for the worst" regarding shaky ties with the Solomon Islands, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao (
Danny Philip, the foreign minister of the Solomon Islands, was scheduled to arrive in Taipei last Friday, but failed to show up, triggering speculation that bilateral ties between the two countries may be hanging in the balance. It has been confirmed that Philip left Australia on Monday and DPP Legislator Parris Chang (張旭成) said Philip was currently visiting Beijing.
When asked if Philip was in Beijing, Tien said: "probably ... should be."
The country's ambassador to Taipei, Seth Gukuna, gave a vague answer regarding Philip's whereabouts. "All I can tell you as of now is that he is in that part of the region, but I am not sure whether he's in Hong Kong, Macao or Beijing," Gukuna told the Taipei Times.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao (
Earlier yesterday, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Sogavare called an urgent Cabinet meeting at which relations with Taiwan were reportedly discussed. He then told Taiwan officials during a reception for Taiwan's Double Ten celebrations that ties between the two countries remained unchanged, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) officials said.
When attending the Double Ten party at the Taipei Guest House, Gukuna admitted that it wasn't until late yesterday that he had received instructions from his government regarding ties between the two countries.
When asked if Philip's visit to Beijing was a prelude to the Solomon Islands' switch of diplomatic ties to China, Tien said the foreign ministry has considered such a possibility.
"We'll prepare for the worst, but it is still too early to speculate on relations between the two countries," Tien said.
"Everything is contingent upon subsequent developments," said Joseph Shih (
Chang offered two interpretations regarding the fact that the country's foreign minister is probably visiting Beijing while the prime minister claimed that ties between the two countries remained stable.
"Maybe the foreign minister and the prime minister hold conflicting views over the issue. Or, the two are simply playing a two-man show, with the hope of squeezing more financial aid out of Taiwan," Chang said.
Chang urged Taipei to cut diplomatic ties with the Solomon Islands "which is greedy and switches back between Taiwan and China seeking aid."
Chang said the Solomon Islands has sought US$150 million from Taiwan as the condition for continuing diplomatic ties, but the size of the aid was not accepted by the ministry. Both sides so far have failed to agree on the size of the financial aid. Beijing has offered to grant US$120 million to lure the country to drop Taipei and recognize Beijing, Chang added.
Tien said continued financial assistance to the war-torn state is likely, but it should not exceed what Taiwan can afford. "As a foreign minister, I am also responsible for watching over the government's purse," Tien said.
Ministry officials said Taiwan will not be "blackmailed" by the Solomon Islands if Beijing lures the South Pacific state into its fold with dollar diplomacy.
Sources from the Solomon Islands said the political situation was very much on the brink, with political tensions among rival factions that have simmered over the last two years now coming to a boil.
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS