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
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands. “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in Hawaii said there was no tsunami warning after the quake. The Russian tsunami alert was later canceled. Overnight, the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years, Russia’s RIA
South Korea yesterday said that it was removing loudspeakers used to blare K-pop and news reports to North Korea, as the new administration in Seoul tries to ease tensions with its bellicose neighbor. The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. It said in June that Pyongyang stopped transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean residents, a day after South Korea’s loudspeakers fell silent. “Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers,”
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
RSS