The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday issued a joint statement on security supply chains, saying that they would augment consultations and cooperation, especially in the information and communications technology (ICT) and medical sectors, and ensure that “supply chains are secure and free from political coercion.”
The partnership would focus on encouraging partners to bring supply chains closer to home or like-minded economies, and to develop new supply chains based on shared values, the statement read.
“Developing supply chain resilience in like-minded priority regions, such as India, ASEAN and the Visegrad Group, which will collectively reinforce the Taiwan New Southbound Policy and US Indo-Pacific strategy” will be one of the partnership’s goals, it read.
Photo: CNA
The joint statement was issued following the Forum on Supply Chain Restructuring: Improving Resilience Amongst Like-Minded Partners hosted by the AIT at the Shangri-La Hotel in Taipei.
At the forum, envoys of the US, Europe and Japan, as well as a Czech delegation visiting Taipei, expressed their support for restructuring a global supply chain based on the values of democracy, free markets and respect for intellectual property (IP) rights.
In his opening remarks, AIT Director Brent Christensen told the Czech delegation that the AIT and Taiwan’s representative office in the US last week issued a declaration on 5G security that echoes last year’s Prague Proposals.
Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil and his delegation’s visit to Taipei has highlighted Taiwan’s significance in so many areas “that are vital to our future prosperity and national security,” Christensen said.
Supply chain resiliency is just one of the areas in which Taiwan is to play a key role in the post-COVID-19 era, he added.
Taiwanese firms are leading industry players that helped to develop ICT and other supply chains in China more than 30 years ago, but Taiwanese firms adhere to the rule of law and protect intellectual property, he said.
COVID-19 has exposed the risk of overreliance on a single country or supplier for critical materials such as medical supplies or pharmaceuticals, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said.
In his speech, on the final day of the delegation’s visit, Vystrcil endorsed the values of freedom, democracy and an open economy, while highlighting the importance of seeking like-minded suppliers in strategic sectors, such as medical supplies.
European Economic and Trade Office Director Filip Grzegorzewski, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Representative Hiroyasu Izumi and TAITRA Chairman James Huang (黃志芳) also attended the forum.
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
Taiwan yesterday said it was looking forward to attending an upcoming memorial in Japan to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, a day after the Japanese city said it had retracted its previous decision to not invite Taiwan to the event. The case has been dealt with by Taiwan’s representative office in Fukuoka and the Nagasaki City Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The ministry would decide who to send to the Aug. 9 event once it receives the invitation, it added. The ministry made the remarks following a Japanese media report on Saturday that said Nagasaki Mayor
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office