The US Department of State on Tuesday said that it is helping Pacific island nations respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by coordinating assistance with “like-minded partners,” including Taiwan.
“As the leader in global health and humanitarian response to COVID-19, the United States has acted swiftly to monitor, respond to and mitigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Pacific island countries,” the department said in a statement.
As of Friday last week, the US government has provided more than US$32 million in funding to support pandemic response efforts in Pacific island nations, including more than US$27.5 million directed to the Federated States of Micronesia, as well as the Marshall Islands and Palau, the department said.
“We are coordinating closely with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan and other like-minded partners on COVID-19 assistance to the Pacific,” the department said, without elaborating.
Palau, the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu are four Pacific countries with formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which has a total of 15 diplomatic allies worldwide.
As part of its first wave of humanitarian aid, Taiwan donated 80,000 masks to the four Pacific countries — 20,000 each — along with forehead thermometers and thermal imaging cameras, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said last week.
The Pacific allies have not reported any confirmed cases of COVID-19, although Guam has reported 136 cases and five eaths as of yesterday.
Asked for comment on the US’ statement, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) thanked the US for its support and reiterated the ministry’s determination to deepen cooperation with the US.
As the Pacific allies have limited medical and human resources, Taiwan has been offering them aid to meet their urgent needs, mainly through bilateral collaboration channels, she said.
Taiwan has also exchanged information about aiding Pacific countries with the US and other like-minded nations, Ou said.
Taiwan is open to helping the Pacific nations through multilateral mechanisms to maximize the effects of aid, she said.
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