Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) called China a regional “troublemaker” after the Solomon Islands blocked Taiwan and other dialogue partners, including the US and China, from participating in the 54th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting on Sept. 8.
He made the remark in an interview with Australian daily newspaper the Australian released last week.
Lin said he believed Beijing’s pressure was behind the Solomon Islands’ decision to exclude all dialogue and development partners from the meeting this year.
Photo: Taipei Times
However, as the US and China have embassies in the Solomon Islands, they would be able to communicate with the forum’s participants in unofficial settings, but Taiwan would be excluded, he said.
Although Taiwan would be absent from this year’s meeting, it would continue to seeking different channels to contribute to the region, Lin said.
Excluding Taiwan, which has long been a regional development partner, is “a loss for the island nations in the Pacific,” he added.
For the Pacific island nations, the “Pacific way” stresses inclusiveness and facing challenges together, he said, adding that the absence of dialogue and development partners this year would seriously undermine those efforts.
As the 18 PIF member states take turns holding the leaders’ meeting, Palau, a diplomatic ally of Taiwan, would host the event next year, Lin said.
Taiwan looks forward to attending the forum next year and demonstrating how it can contribute to and participate in the development of Pacific island nations, he added.
In another article recently published in the Australian, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian (肖千) said that some people are trying to challenge the authority of UN Resolution 2758 by saying that Taiwan’s status is “uncertain” and that “the People’s Republic of China [PRC] has never ruled over Taiwan” to blur and hollow out the so-called “one China” principle.
The PRC has never ruled Taiwan for even a single day, and the 158-word UN 2758 Resolution makes no mention of Taiwan, Lin said.
The Australian parliament last year passed a motion rejecting Beijing’s misinterpretation of the resolution, he said.
Taiwan fulfills all the criteria of statehood, including having its own people, land and government, and being able to exercise sovereignty, he said.
Calling China’s claims “the emperor’s new clothes,” he said that “telling a lie 100 times does not make it true.”
Facing China’s suppression in the international arena and its propaganda campaign, Taiwan is striving for more support through international collaborations, substantial contributions and continuously speaking out, he added.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
NATIONAL DAY: The ‘Taiwan Dome’ would form the centerpiece of new efforts to bolster air defense and be modeled after Israel’s ‘Iron Dome,’ sources said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday pledged to strengthen the nation’s air defense capabilities and build a “T-Dome” system to create a safety net against growing military threats from China. “We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defense system in Taiwan with multi-layered defense, high-level detection and effective interception, and weave a safety net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens,” he said in his National Day address. In his keynote address marking the Republic of China’s (ROC) 114th anniversary, Lai said the lessons of World War II have taught nations worldwide “to ensure that
RSS