President William Lai (賴清德) arrived in the Pacific nation of Tuvalu today, where the two nations signed a joint communique on advancing their partnership.
Lai's day trip to Tuvalu came just ahead of a stopover in the US territory of Guam.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
Earlier, he was in the Marshall Islands where President Hilda Heine expressed her government's commitment to "remain a staunch ally" of Taiwan.
Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands are among 12 nations that still recognize Taiwan diplomatically.
Lai smiled and waved as he stepped off the plane in Tuvalu, where he was greeted by Prime Minister Feleti Teo, Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, schoolchildren, an honor guard, and a traditional song and dance performance.
"When I disembarked and saw Tuvaluan students waving the national flags of our two countries, I strongly felt the people's firm commitment to our diplomatic alliance," Lai said through a translator.
Looking relaxed in a colorful shirt and a garland of pink and yellow flowers around his neck, Lai said he hoped Taiwan and Tuvalu can "expand our cooperation to even more areas, thereby further strengthening our diplomatic partnership."
In a speech, Teo expressed "Tuvalu's thanks for Taiwan's contribution" to a pool of funds used by the government to buy a submarine Internet cable, as well as its financial support for climate action.
In a joint communique on "advancing the comprehensive partnership" signed during Lai's visit, Taiwan and Tuvalu agreed to "reassess the ongoing bilateral cooperation projects in order to establish a more durable, lasting and mutually beneficial diplomatic relations."
Teo was named prime minister in February, a month after an election that put the nation's recognition of Taiwan in question.
During the election campaign, senior lawmaker Seve Paeniu had floated the idea that Tuvalu's new government could review its Taiwan ties.
That set off frenzied speculation about a looming shift in policy, but the new government has vowed to keep up its "special" relationship with Taiwan.
China has dramatically ramped up its efforts to gain influence across the Pacific islands in recent years, lavishing small nation states with loans, investment, security aid and other enticements.
Beijing has already poached some of Taiwan's Pacific allies, convincing Solomon Islands and Kiribati to switch recognition in 2019.
Neighboring Nauru severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in January, just days after Lai won the presidential election.
Lai is to wrap up his week-long trip on Friday with a visit to ally Palau.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
RSS