Two hundred US lawmakers in a letter on Wednesday called for Taiwan’s participation in the planned Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), touting the nation’s economic importance and the signal of support it would send to counter Chinese intimidation.
The letter, drafted by the four cochairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus and addressed to US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪), said that Taiwan should be “at the front of the line” to join the framework.
US President Joe Biden in October last year proposed the IPEF to boost economic cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
The move is considered to be Washington’s latest effort at countering growing Chinese influence in the region in the wake of its withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017.
Calling the reasons for including Taiwan “compelling,” the letter outlined the nation’s strengths as a major Indo-Pacific economy.
It not only served as the eighth-largest trading partner to the US last year with US$114 billion in total volume, but has also aided in diversifying the US supply chain away from overdependence on the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the letter said.
It also highlighted economic engagement with Taiwan through the US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue — which covers topics similar to those considered for the IPEF — and the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF), which also includes Japan and Australia as full partners.
Other regional economies should also welcome Taiwan’s participation, considering its active membership in APEC since 1991, and facilitation of trade and investment liberalization, it said.
Taiwan’s expertise in inviting thousands of participants to the GCTF “would also enhance the likelihood of a successful outcome of the IPEF deliberations,” it added.
“For these reasons alone, we believe that Taiwan should be at the front of the line to be invited to participate in the IPEF,” it said. “Taiwan’s inclusion would also send a clear signal that the United States stands with its allies and partners, and will not be bullied by the PRC.”
“Mindful of Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine, it is critically important for the United States to unequivocally support Taiwan as it confronts an increasingly bellicose PRC,” it said. “Taiwan’s admission to the IPEF would be an essential step in demonstrating America’s resolve to protect, defend and strengthen that key partnership.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the bipartisan group of lawmakers for their support.
Taiwan participates in regional economic affairs, and is committed to deepening economic ties with the US and other like-minded partners, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
RSS