Australia has voiced support for Taiwan despite the Solomon Islands’ plan to undermine Taiwan’s status as an observer at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
The forum is one of the most important international organizations in the Pacific region, made up of 18 member states, including Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan’s Pacific allies, associate members and observers, along with “dialogue partners” such as the US, Japan, Canada and the EU.
The 53rd edition of the forum opened in Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, yesterday.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Taiwan has been taking part in the forum and related events as a “developmental partner” under the name Taiwan / Republic of China since 1993. The status was first established in a communique published in 1992 and later recognized in communiques published in 1999 and 2000.
However, the Australian yesterday reported that the Solomon Islands at the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Aug. 9 in Suva, Fiji, said that it would table a motion this week to challenge Taiwan’s participation at the forum.
It cited a source familiar with the foreign affairs of Pacific island nations as saying on condition of anonymity that the Solomon Islands, acting under explicit instructions from Beijing, is aiming to prevent Taiwan from attending the forum to be held in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, next year.
China is lobbying all the member states to support the motion, but it could be deemed to threaten the solidarity of Pacific island nations and might not be approved, the source was quoted as saying.
In response to queries about the challenge facing Taiwan as a forum observer, a spokesperson at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that the Australian government values continued cooperation with all development partners in the Pacific region, including Taiwan.
Taiwan is a crucial development partner for Pacific nations, especially for Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and Palau, the spokesperson said.
Australia supports current arrangements facilitating exchanges between member states and Taiwan at annual forums, which have been established and implemented since 1992, they said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) has led a delegation to attend the 29th “Dialogue between Taiwan / Republic of China and PIF Nations” in Tonga — which is to be held as part of the annual forum — with the goal of buttressing the cooperative partnership between Taiwan, its Pacific allies and other like-minded nations, as well as broadening Taiwan’s participation in the international community.
The ministry also “deplored that some countries attempt to break the solidarity among Pacific nations for selfish reasons” and expressed appreciation to Pacific allies and other like-minded nations for supporting Taiwan’s continued participation in the forum.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
PRECISION STRIKES: The most significant reason to deploy HIMARS to outlying islands is to establish a ‘dead zone’ that the PLA would not dare enter, a source said A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) would be deployed to Penghu County and Dongyin Island (東引) in Lienchiang County (Matsu) to force the Chinese military to retreat at least 100km from the coastline, a military source said yesterday. Taiwan has been procuring HIMARS and Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the US in batches. Once all batches have been delivered, Taiwan would possess 111 HIMARS units and 504 ATACMS, which have a range of 300km. Considering that “offense is the best defense,” the military plans to forward-deploy the systems to outlying islands such as Penghu and Dongyin so that
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
RSS