Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has eased travel restrictions for Philippine government officials to Taiwan, with the goal of increasing opportunities for the development and expansion of the country’s priority areas of investments, the Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported yesterday.
The travel limitations were first imposed in 1989 during the administration of former Philippine president Corazon Aquino. The executive order had banned all Filipino government officials from making official visits to Taiwan, meeting with Taiwanese officials, or engaging in any official activity related to Taiwan without permission from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Marcos on Tuesday last week signed Memorandum Circular, with the content being made public yesterday.
Photo: CNA
Under the new policy, travel restriction would only apply to the president, vice president, secretary of foreign affairs and secretary of national defense, the PNA said.
Philippine officials who are to visit Taiwan for economic, trade and investment purposes are required to use their “ordinary passports and without using their official titles,” the report said.
They must also inform and coordinate with the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei, the Philippines’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, before their trip.
The new policy also allows Filipino officials to host Taiwanese delegations for economic discussions, but MECO should be notified at least five days before the meetings.
The memorandum further stipulates that no official documents can be signed with Taiwanese government agencies without prior approval from the DFA and the Office of the President, the report said.
In Taipei, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) affirmed the Philippine government’s efforts to enhance relations between Taiwan and the Philippines, adding that the new policy would deepen practical cooperation between the two countries under the framework of integrated diplomacy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said in a statement that Taiwan is the Philippines’ eighth-largest export market, ninth-largest trade partner and 10th-largest source of imports.
“As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has said, the stability across the Taiwan Strait is the priority, and peace, safety and stability is the concern of all nations. Taiwan will continue work with the Philippines and other democratic allies and make contributions to the regional prosperity, peace and stability,” the ministry said.
‘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 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
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
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
RSS